Geodesic Fold Adventure
by PhoenixHunter
Summary: The adventures of The Crew of the Warship Aurora, Comprised of Earth born Humans-Tua'ri, Lanteans People of Atlantis and Asgard. The ship is flung to a galaxy filled with the unknown, it is here that they encounter Humans of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol
1. Chapter 1 Personal Log

Personal Log:

_It is still hard to believe that we are as far from home as we are. Even harder on the Tua'ri members of the crew, some are taking it better than others but they lack the experience of the Lantean and Asgard crew; all of whom for lack of anything else see the ship as their home._

_At times I regret ever agreeing to allow the testing of the Geodesic Fold Drive, and other times I am glad that it is the Aurora that the GFD was installed on. I am not really being fair in my feelings but when ever I think about it, it could have been one of the other ships. Yes, Earth only has a small fleet of Tua'ri ships and even smaller is the fleet of Lantean ships, but at least the Asgard make up the difference. At times I can not help but think of whom it would have been if the Aurora had not have been equipped with the experimental Geodesic Fold Drive, it could have been a Daedalus, a Prometheus or even a Titan class ship that had been flung half-way across the unknown universe._

_I guess that we are all lucky that it had been the Aurora herself and not any of the other ships. Yes the Asgard ships would have survived this far and yes a Lantean ship would have the advantage with dealing with anything thrown at them; but it is the Aurora that will make it home. This is because Asgard have the know how, Lanteans have the experience and Tua'ri have the will; the Aurora is the first ship to field a joint crew and I am certain she would not be the last._

_But I digress; officially it has been five months since we learned of our location and the navigational course to return us home and to make matters worse is the spatial anomalies of this region of space makes it near impossible to utilize Hyperspace the way we're use to._

_Currently we are traveling with a refugee fleet of approximately one hundred ships of varying types most of which are civilian in nature. Luckily enough thirty-one percent of the fleet is military in origin making our lives easier. The Colonial Fleet as they call themselves is the only legally armed forces of their former civilization the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. It was during the first meeting that we began to realize just how far from home we had been._

_Kobol was a long range Lantean outpost world, and when I say long range I mean that even via Stargate it would take at least all of the Aurora's power generation ability to send a Gate Network Data burst back to Atlantis let alone Midway, the Ark or Earth itself and to make matters worse, when it comes to communications our Hyper-Subspace frequencies only have a range of two hundred light years before the interference causes terminal signal loss. Still at least that distance we still have real time and not lagged time connections. Doctor Myers is working on modifying one of the Comm. Arrays for at least a Data burst using the GFD systems as a base for the new FTL Comms._

_I still wonder why Dr. Ellen Myers ended up overseeing the GFD FTL instead of the unit's creator Professor Willings, but at least Dr. Myers is more than willing to accept input from others unlike Willings. If we are successful our first task will be to modify the Colonial systems for FTL Communications, it is strange when you think about it; the Colonials have FTL Drives but they are still using Modulated EM carrier bands for communications and worse yet it is the same for the scanning range. At least one hundred and twenty times now a Cylon attack group jumped to just two light minutes out. The Colonials at first found it strange that we could predict when the Cylons attack, at first it was only a few minutes before each assault but with each encounter we were able to gleam more information on the GFD's energy systems from an external point of view; it has reached the point where we can determine the exact ship that is jumping within a range of ninety light years._

_Took nearly a week after we explained to the Colonials how our sensors worked before they would believe us about any ship jumping anywhere outside of dradius range and that was only after installing a sensor pack on the Warstar Zeus, took nearly three more days to train them how to use the sensor pack. Of course after that they were a bit more open and willing to believe us._

_I often wonder how the fleet would be like if we had not encountered them, but than again we would have been worse off than we are now._

_As of this time we are searching for two groups, one the Battlestar Pegasus under Rear Admiral Helena Cain, whom is now hated with a passion though out the majority of the fleet including nearly all of the Colonial Officers for stripping a group of civilian ships for supplies and personnel. The surviving two thousand people of the stripped fleet long to be reunited with their families and for Cain to be left behind in a life-pod. We will deal with that when we recover the Pegasus._

_The second group is our main target with nearly Fifty Thousand people being lead and protected by the oldest of all Colonial Ships the Battlestar Galactica. I can't help but smile at the thought of a fifty year old Battlestar that was barely manned and armed not only survived an all out surprise attack that took down the biggest badest of ships has not only survived but has been protecting civilians and kicking Cylon ass. The moment we meet up with Galactica and her fleet I am going to announce a fleet wide holiday called Galactica Day, everyone could use the symbol the Galactica has become including my own crew._

_I will also be glad to hand over leadership of this fleet to Commander Adama and President Roslin, it would be better for Colonials to be lead by Colonials instead of a group of people from another galaxy. Of course as of the moment no one outside of my crew knows that we are anything other than a group of humans form the Colonies. I guess that we will …_

"Commander to the bridge, Supreme Commander Phoenix to the bridge Please."


	2. Chapter 2 Space Dock

Space-Dock - Earth-Lunar Orbit

Seven Months Earlier…

"Supreme Commander, can I talk with you for a minute", turning around I notice one of the FTL Project Scientists approaching my position. Shaking my head with a sigh I motion for him to follow me, as we walk I look at his lab coat, the name stitched on it says _Willings_.

"Supreme Commander, are you returning to the Aurora? I was hoping that I can talk to you about installing the Geodesic Fold Drive for testing." That was when it hit me, Willings is the one whom has been lobbying for ships to test and utilize the GFD system or loving call Jump Drive. "Sir, I am certain you know that the Hyper-drive system is only the tip of FTL technologies, will you be willing to allow the Aurora the chance to be the first to use such technologies?"

I have to wonder about some people, but in this case I will be fair and hear him out. "Willings, if and I stress if you can prove to me that the GF Drive is safe and can reproduce results on demand then I will consider allowing it to be installed on the Aurora."

Before I leave the Professor to his thoughts, I turn to him and mention "We are going to be at Midway next month for a full systems overhaul, if you can be ready by then it would improve your chances of having it installed." How little I knew then, but the primary mandate of the Star Forces is to explore new worlds and technologies, even if the technology in question is over one million years old.

Returning to my ship an annoying sound reaches my ears before I can even step on board. Directly in front of the Starboard Docking Station is the Aurora's Chief Engineer and Commanding Resident Asgard Hermiod and Leading Navigational and Helm Officer Charlie Polk _'my adopted little brother'_, were once again arguing. Even after being friends for the last six years they still butt heads over the strangest of things and at times the crew bets on the subject of each event, to the point that there is a running betting pool. By now the crew should know that the pool is worthless, not because it is against SF Protocol but because normally it is me or the Chief Medical Officer Hiendol whom always win.

Stepping through load and behold equipment cases and a scientist are in front of the two and Charlie and Hermiod are actually yelling at the scientist and not each other, will wonders never cease. Before the two start a new triad the young woman stutters "Sirs, Professor Willings ordered me to oversee the installation and operation of the Geodesic Fold Drive, and confirmed that all required processing has been completed with orders for you to begin installation."

All three are caught off guard by a low growl, turning in the general direction they now notice my presence. I order them to assign her to quest quarters and to store the equipment while I confirm the orders for the GFD Installation.

When I get my hands on Willings, I am going to fold him in half the little prick wants to test his new toy on my ship. As I enter my quarters I order the computer to connect me to Fleet Command on Earth, within moments I am connected and ask for General Ronson.

_Phoenix, what can I do for you?_

"Ronson, what in the name of creation is this order to install a new drive on my ship about?"

_The order is a general standing for ship commanders if they volunteer their ship to help with the GFD Project_

"Really, well you might want to reel those scientists in a bit, somehow Willings has gotten it into his head that I have volunteered the Aurora."

_So you didn't talk with him last week?_

"Last week? Don't you mean a few hours ago?"

_I see, so Willings falsified the Aurora's agreement to test the GFD, but we can use this to our advantage._

"How so?"

_Due to the GFD testing schedule provided by the Science Council, we can get the Aurora overhauled now instead of next month and we can use this as an excuse for a full resupply of all ships using the Science Council as the main argument._

"I see, when should we set course for Midway?"

_As soon as we finish this conversation; Phoenix, be careful this man Willings is up to something I just don't know what it is yet._

"Don't worry old friend me and the crew will come back with Aurora intact and untouched, Trust me."

_I will Phoenix and good luck, Ronson out._

"Confirmed; Phoenix out."

"Bridge, Recall all crew on shore leave and prep for departure. We are leaving space-dock in one hour that is all."

With that I begin my own preparations for launch from space-dock, and here I was looking forward to some down time. I had planned on spending time with Annalisa and my mother; I hardly get the time anymore with all the missions that have to be accomplished. I still wonder why I even opened my big mouth and reviled the existence of the Asgard and the fact that I am a Lantean, but then I remember that doing so actually prevented the Great Third World War. I guess that I will just have to get Mother and Annalisa Gate Passage to Midway, so we can spend time together during the overhaul for Aurora.

As I walked on to the Bridge an hour later, I notice that everyone has a sullen look on their faces, even Charlie whom was actually going to spend his time on Aurora during leave. For me just another reason to fold Willings in half and now to throw him out an Airlock for added measure. As I take me seat, I look over to my Executive Officer, out of all or us, she is the one most and least affected by this change in orders. She is the most affected because now she would not be able to spend a relaxing vacation alone with her husband, but also the least due to the fact that her husband is also on board the Aurora. Officially he is a civilian aid for Hiendol, working primarily in the field of medicine and advanced genetics but unofficially he is here as a personal doctor for his wife and a small hand full of the crew when Hiendol is unavailable.

"Colonel Hunter, prepare to take us out of space-dock."

_Yes Sir, Supreme Commander_

_All hands Go-no-Go flight check_

_Helm and Navigation_

"Go"

_Weapons_

"Armed and Ready, Go"

_Shields_

"On Standby, Go"

_Communications_

"Communications All Clear, Go"

_Long Range Sensors_

"Online, Go"

_Close Range Sensors_

"Confirmed Online Sir, Go"

_Standard Sensors_

"All Data Green, Go"

_Combat Sensors_

"At the Ready, Go"

_Emergency Systems and Damage Control_

"Systems Set, Go", "Confirmed Green, Go"

_Sublight Drives_

"Online and good, Go"

_Hyper-drives_

"On Standby, Go"

_Combat Information Control_

"CIC is Go Sir"

_Medical_

"Ready Here, Go"

_Engineering_

"We are at the Ready, Go"

_Security Teams_

"Ready to Repeal Boarders, Go"

_Fighter Flight Control_

"All Fighters Secured and Ready for Rapid Deployment, We are Go"

_Sir, all systems are Go for launch and awaiting your orders._

"Very Good, put me on ship-wide."

"All hands, this is Commander Phoenix, I am certain many of you were looking forward to some well deserved rest and relaxation, but I hate to say that has been put on hold. Our new orders are to launch from space-dock and make course for Midway Station to under go immediate systems overhaul and refit. It will be at that time we will begin a new mission for the Science Council, for the Geodesic Fold Drive Project headed by Professor Alexander Willings. It appears that the refit will take shortly over a month to complete, during this time all non-senior staff and crew will be filtered back to Earth via Stargate for one week shore leave. Check with you section Chiefs and Senior Officers to confirm which group you will be assigned to for leave, I am sorry that you will not be able to enjoy the month long shore-leave that you were planning. I will be contacting the Supreme Council on this matter as well as Fleet Command in order to at least make up for your lost leave time. Any questions that you have can be directed to your immediate Senior Officer, that is all."

"Colonel, take us out of space-dock."

_Yes Sir, Communications contact Dock Control for clearance to leave dock._

_Helm, bring sublight engines online and ready thrusters._

"Colonel, Dock Control says we're clear for launch."

_Clear the docking clamps, aft thrusters to one quarter power and take us out._

"Yes Colonel, docking clamps are cleared, thrusters at one quarter power, we are clearing the dock."

At the ships current speed it took us three minutes to clear the dock itself and to move clear of the dock yards.

"Sir, we are clear of Dock Yard Traffic"

_Well done Mister Polk, bring the Hyper-drives to full power and begin course plot for Midway Station._

"Confirmed, bringing Hyper-drives to full power, plotting course to Midway Station Milky Way-Pegasus Galactic Bridge."

_Commander we are ready for Hyper-space transit to Midway Station._

"Very Good Colonel, take us to Midway."

_Yes Sir, Mister Polk engage Hyper-drive and take us into hyperspace._

"Yes Sir. Jumping to hyperspace now."

With that the ship jumped into the familiar purple cloud of the hyperspace window. Now all we can do is wait to arrive at the Midway Station.


	3. Chapter 3 Midway

Midway Station - Milky Way-Pegasus Galactic Bridge

T-Minus Six Weeks to Geodesic Jump

The Midway Station or Midway as it is called by the Star Forces is one of the Greatest Achievements of the Three Great Races. Designed by Lanteans, taking the form of the Cityship Atlantis, powered by both Asgard and Lantean technologies giving it the teeth to defend not only itself but an entire fleet of ships that could be docked with it and built by the Tua'ri making it one of the biggest projects the people of Earth have ever undertaken.

Midway is not your run of mill space station, as its name suggests it is located at the midway point between to galactic bodies. The galactic bodies are the Milky Way and Pegasus Galaxies, putting the station itself in the void outside of the Galactic Rim. This location was chosen for three primary reasons, the first being defense of Territories in all explored space. Midway's position allows them to monitor nearly one third of each galaxy within range of the galactic void, Midway's sensor range for standard resolution being point five seven GUs 'Galactic Units' or simply put a little over two and a half million light years. Working in tandem with Atlantis in the Pegasus Galaxy, Earth in the Orion Spiral Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy and the Ark located ten thousand light years out side of the Orion Spiral Arm allow the Star Forces a near complete view of Milky Way, Ida and Pegasus Galaxies.

The Second reason just happens to be reason for the Aurora's current mission, the testing of new and unknown technologies, varying from weapons and shields to engines and communications. Any and all new technologies are tested at Midway to allow for larger margins of error in design and functionality than would be considered unsafe inside of a star system. With Midway there is an available void of space where at most only man made bodies exist for thousands of light years in any direction, allowing for far more destructive results to occur with testing new technologies.

The Third and in certain aspects the most important reason for Midway's placement is once again suggested within the name of the station, Milky Way-Pegasus Galactic Bridge. The Station acts as the jump off point for ships and Gate travelers between the two galaxies, by utilizing a series of Gate Repeaters spread out every thousand light years travelers can transit between the Pegasus and Milky Way Stargate Networks with the normal energy usage of standard Interstellar Gate travel. This method allows for travels from worlds that are unable to meet the energy generation requirements for Intergalactic Gate travel, to be able to travel between Galactic Gate Networks as if they were traveling to the neighboring star system.

Because the Midway Station's importance in the Transgalactic theater of operations for both Civilian and Military sectors, the station is equipped with an extensive defense perimeter in which includes the Hyperspace Window Jammer or HWJ system. The HWJ creates a chaotic energy field that forces any ship traveling via hyperspace to drop back to normal space when within a distance of thirty light minutes. Since the majority of space fairing races within the known universe are currently unable to bypass the light speed barrier inside of normal space without succumbing to the affects of temporal dilation this gives Midway over an hour under normal conditions to prepare defenses against threats.

Currently the only known forces within the known universe that are not bound by the light speed barrier laws for normal space, just happens to be the forces that constructed Midway. That still does not mean that ships of the Star Forces can come and go as they please, Midway is used by more than just the Three Great Races, but by any and all whom abide by the rules and regulations of the Midway Station may use Midway itself for exploration and peaceful contact between peoples. Midway at times acts out a Fourth and most vital role in the Transgalactic theme, and that role is the Third Party or Neutral Force that acts to help resolve differences, conflicts and other incidents between star nations. This is why even ships of the Star Forces must drop out of hyperspace no less then thirty light minutes out from the station. Normally ships drop out closer to one light hour out and then contact Midway Traffic Control for permission to enter Midway controlled space, only under emergency conditions will the MTC allow ships to drop out closer to the station than one light hour without lighting them up with the Midway Defense Network targeting systems.

In-fact that is why I am now finding myself returning to the bridge, we will be dropping out of hyperspace at one hour and five light minutes out. For the past week I have been going over the proposed overhaul and refit designs for the Aurora, and so far I am impressed with the improvements that they are going to make. The Aurora is and always will be a warship first and foremost, so the ability to fight on fleet level battles is a must for her. Officially I can not agree to any installation until we have docked at the Midway Construction Yards, but I am more than certain that the Senior Staff will be chomping at the bit to look at the new systems that will be installed into the old girl.

"Colonel, what is our current status?" asking as I sit down in my command chair.

First looking at Charlie, then back to me, "We are approaching the drop-out point, and will arrive within the next fifteen minutes Sir."

"Yep, I heard that they have a new generation engine system for the Aurora, should allow us to hit three five light speed at full military thrust." Charlie says drooling over his controls.

"Mister Polk, did we ask for your opinion or give you permission to speak?" the Colonel not looking to happy with him. I have to admit it is because of Charlie that I have been through seven XOs in the past five years; Christina seems to be the only XO in the entire fleet that can stand Charlie without succumbing to the urge to throw him out an Airlock. I snicker at the look on the Colonel's face, during the first year that the ship served to protect Earth, the entire crew including myself were nothing more than a bunch of civilians playing soldier.

"Leave it be Colonel, you are one of the few whom did not serve aboard ship from day one. We have this understanding that military protocol has its place but only when it is truly called for. Now is not that time, when we are in combat yes, during first contact or diplomatic functions yes, hell docking and leaving dock and yards yes, but not when there is practically nothing going on outside of normal ship operations. How do you think that this ship has made the long haul with her current crew?"

"Commander, Sir; ships in the Star Forces are military vessels and as thus are crewed by military personnel, you yourself hold a military rank, are you telling me we should ignore years of military tradition. Just because the crew has worked together for the past few years?" the Colonel's face is priceless as her asks her question. Of course she knows better, but still this is something that we have been trying to get her to understand for the past eighteen months, ever since she and Keith had gotten married. Her official tour of duty on the Aurora did not start until just last year, the fact that she has lasted as long as she has definitely makes her the primary candidate for a semi-permanent XO.

"Colonel, you already know the answer to that, but let us get back to the matter at hand and that is the overhaul and refit. Yes Charlie, they have a new sublight engine system that will be installed on Aurora. The drive will allow us to reach warp one at full thrust and warp one five at burnout speeds." Even thou the use of Warp drive systems are possible through one of the earlier successful FTL Projects from the Science Council, it was decided that Warp Drive is to slow and to power hungry for wide spread usage.

Some of the species that we have encountered used warp drive as their primary and in a way only means of FTL travel, such as the Vulcans and Klingons. The Asgard had noted the existence of these species but due to the war with the bug-form replicators the Asgard were not able to return to that isolated section of the Milky Way until four years ago. Nearly three thousand years, allowed both worlds to develop their own methods of space flight and FTL.

It was actually a month after the Asgard had managed to get the Charlie Polk into the nebula that isolated this region of space did they detect a ship moving at FTL speeds towards Earth space. The Aurora and her Task Force at the time were ordered to intercept the unknown vessel and initiate First Contact Protocols, imagine the surprise that the alien crew had experienced when a Fleet of Ships easily as big if not bigger than their own version of a warship appeared before them. Even more so, when they learned that the majority of said fleet was built and crewed by a species that they had studied from orbit a little over eighty years ago.

It was classic, the looks they had at the time; trying to understand how a world that they themselves had classified as primitive and thick headed 'at the time' had developed into a space fairing civilization that could easily match them in terms of technology and power. Unlike the Vulcans, the Klingons and other races within the Delphic Nebula had been more accepting of our presence and level of technology, and after the revelation of the Stargate Network would allow those without Warp Drive to be able to reach other star systems and galaxies within their lifetimes, we had to rewrite the Vulcan definition of the word impossible.

"Wow, warp speeds with the sublight drive. The Vulcan Science Directorate must be having a fit over the fact we can reach such speeds so easily." Charlie's smile was a big as his face. Yes, I can see the Vulcans practically ready to scream that this level of technology is impossible, hell they said the hyperspace does not exist and yet we proved them wrong on that from day one.

"Be that as it may, we will have the entire next week to go over the new system designs and interfaces they want to install on the ship. Until then how about we return to normal space and dock at the MCY, Colonel this part I am sure that you will love. Return us to normal space and contact MCY Control." Looking at her, I immediately notice the smile forming on her face; this is where military tradition takes the wheel to dictate our actions.

"Yes Sir; Mister Polk, drop us out of hyperspace and come to full stop. Ensign Corman contact Midway Construction Yards Control and request approach path and docking clearance." Yep, Colonel Hunter is definitely happier right now since we are back to military protocol.

"Yes Sir, dropping out of Hyperspace and coming to full stop." Charlie responds while the normal hyperspace tunnel dissolves back to a view of normal space. As far as the eye can see nothing the only thing within sight is the Midway Station itself with a back drop of the Pegasus galaxy. Even with it being a Dwarf Galaxy Pegasus is still large enough that at seventeen thousand light years away, it still takes up the entire view port on the bridge.

"Uh Sirs, Midway has just ordered us to, um well I think you better hear this yourselves. Putting it up on Main Holo-Screen now." For some reason I get the feeling that Ensign Corman wants to bury her head in the sand.

_This is Midway Station to Aurora; you are to shutdown all engines and prepare for immediate towing to dry-dock. Initiate complete shutdown of you hyper-drives and have all weapons and shields on standby, repeat have all weapons and shields on standby._

"Midway this is Aurora, we confirm recent of message and request clarification of orders." even as Colonel Hunter said that, I could tell that she is nervous about something. I can't blame her, to my knowledge no ship has been ordered to shutdown the engines but have the weapons at the ready. It has always been stand-down weapons and have engines at the ready at all times; this is definitely something outside of the norms.

_Aurora, Midway Actual here, I request to speak with Aurora Actual on secured scrambled line._

I look to Ensign Corman, confirming for her to transfer it to my office as I leave the bridge to Colonel Hunter. Perhaps Midway Actual has some news that will explain what is going on here. Luckily my office is right next to the bridge and as I enter, "Computer, active Priority Scramble Line set to secure mode and open to Midway link in use."

"Midway Actual, Aurora Actual here go head"

_Aurora Actual, can you confirm line is secured?_

"Line is secured go head Midway Actual."

_Phoenix, something odd is going on, and I don't mean the sudden change in the Aurora's time table for refit._

"What's going on, why have us shutdown engines, but have weapons at the ready?

Doesn't make much sense considering our current position in the galactic void."

_The damn thing just showed up a few minutes ago, appeared right off of the stations shield perimeter without any warning. Strange SOB just puffed in without issue, bypassing the HWJ like it doesn't exist. It scared the hell out of everyone and that's not the worse of it, damn thing looks like something from the old TV series… what was it, oh yeah Battlestar Galactica from the late seventies._

"Will, are you talking about a ship? One that was imagined over forty years ago for story telling isn't that a little odd if not insane. Admitted the ability to bypass the HWJ is disturbing but still, to pop up just outside of the shields and then just sit there. No shooting, no contact, no leaving just sit there?"

_I know and then there is this._

As he said that a new image appeared on the Holo-Screen, if I didn't know any better I would claim that we had just had first contact with the Cylons from the old Battlestar Galactica Series. There was just one thing that seems off about the whole thing, and that was the writing on the ship itself, it conformed to Standard English. Suddenly a thought hit me, for years people on Earth were certain that Klingons and Vulcans were fictional species, hell to an extent people Earth side thought that all aliens were fictional.

"Will, can you get someone out here to bring us in to the station. I would feel better if we can use the Aurora incase that thing tries shooting at anyone."

_I already have, they should be in place to tracker you in momentarily. But still these guys have everyone here on edge, I just don't like it. They could at least say something to us, anything including "Now you Die", but this silence is worst than anything I can think of._

"Will, have you heard about the Geodesic Fold Drive?"

_Yes, Aurora was going to test the thing out right? What about it, something to do with this?_

"Possible Will, very possible; Contact Professor Willings and General Ronson, looks like Willings is going to get a major upgrade to his project and Ronson a major headache."

_Phoenix, what is this? What in all of the Hells of the Universe is going on here, and why will Willings and Ronson need to be involved beyond the normal reports?_

"Because Will, I think we have a First Contact Situation here."

_First Contact, that I understand, but first contact with whom?_

"Will, depending on what we find in that ship, we could end up entering into a whole new war."

_War, war with who Phoenix?_

"Will, that ship could very possibly belong to a race of sentient machines."

_Who Phoenix?_

"The Cylons"


	4. Chapter 4 First Contact

First Contact – Midway Station – Unknown Ship

T-Minus Six Weeks to Geodesic Jump

Even as I said it, I hoped that my assumptions are wrong. But with the luck we have had with the Wraith and the Ori, my fears of another war went on high alert. We were just plain lucky that the human-form Replicators in Pegasus had forgiven the Lanteans for what happened a little over ten thousand years ago.

_The Cylons? What are you talking about Phoenix?_

The look on Will's face clearly showed disbelief at my statement about the people whom built the ship now just off of Midway.

"Will, I hope to all upon high that I am wrong. I would even trade my soul to be wrong if I could, but we both know the possibility"

_Yes Phoenix, I know. But still the Cylons, this has to be something and why think about a species that was part of an old television series and not something else?_

"Because of the Vulcans and Klingons, and before you say anything, remember before four years ago, both species were only a part of a series of television sagas. It is very possible that the Cylon race is quite real."

_I understand Phoenix; the tugs should have you on station in roughly an hour and half. I will keep my people on standby for rapid response in case the ship does anything._

"Right I will see you when we get there Will. Oh quick question, do you know what the name of the new generation drive is? Charlie was drooling on his console over the idea that it is being installed on the Aurora."

_Oh, the new sublight drive. You know, I have no idea and the fact that the thing can reach speeds beyond light speed really makes the term sublight over used. After all it has been what three years since the last sublight drive was laid to rest?_

Before I could respond I felt the tug of the Escort Tugs pull the Aurora towards Midway. I still wonder why our technology has advanced far enough to allow a single military ship to be able to expand the Mass/Inertia Shield to tracker ships with them, but we still need two or more tugs for the same job.

"That I understand, but it is easier on everyone to continue the tradition of calling the spatial drives that we use in normal space sublight drives. After all only Star Forces ships are even capable of reaching the point five light speed barrier, where even the smallest of ships hit the terminal dilation point."

_Very true, and don't forget to thank the scientists here for that otherwise you would still be in the Regina System, trying to out run that forming black hole. And don't forget you owe Anomaly, I mean Dr. Ryanes for heading up that project._

"I take it that Ryanes was a stick jockey at one point?"

_With NASA right till the end, then transferred here to Midway. For a while he was my CO, but he chose space and I chose to stay in the fight before the Aurora made her appearance. But I would still trust him with my life over any of the new stick jockeys, the fleet gets all of the veterans and we get stuck with the rookies._

"I know it, but now I get to take some of those rookies off your hands. Part of Aurora's refit is a whole new Combat Flight Bay System for the brand new F302 Slip Fighters. I will have my pilots teach the rookies a thing or two for you."

_Thanks, I mean that Midway Out_

"Aurora Out"

As I shut down the comm. link, I look over the information that Midway transmitted to us in regards to the unknown ship. Might as well let the senior staff know what is going on, after all we might be the ones to deal with this mess. Activating the ship-wide comm. "All Senior Staff to Conference Room One, all Senior Staff to Conference Room One". With the announcement made, I also make my way to Conference Room One and the unavoidable headache that this unscheduled staff meeting will cause.

Standing outside of the conference room, I sigh deeply, "Well here we go."

Time Skip – T-Minus Five Weeks to Geodesic Jump

All and all the meetings have been going well, in fact other than the one issue with having the crew clear-out all of their belongs from the ship I would say the meeting about leave went well. The hurdle clearer just happened to be that the Aurora's space-frame has to be modified to handle the majority of the new systems for the Combat Flight Bay. My Flight Operations Office and CAG both had yelled over the fact that the refit team wanted to remove the F302 Interceptors and replace them with the new Slip Fighters.

The Slip Fighter is the lasted in Aero-Space Combat Frames, the majority of the technology onboard is tried and true systems from older generation 302s. But I understand the stand point of keeping the Interceptors, sticking with only a new and non-combat tested fighter design would be suicide for the pilots and deck crews. The Aurora's Knuckle Draggers have also lodged complaints about the redesign of the Flight Bay.

This has been the one matter that no one can seem to agree on, and to make matters worse is the 'Cylon' ship now sitting in Midway's Dry Dock next to Aurora. It had taken longer that expected to get a SRS Team deployed to the hulk and burn through the haul, what was discovered how ever was not what anyone was expecting. Instead of a ship, what was found was just a space-frame and what appeared to be the remains of several people, both machine and organic. The computer network on board was fried, and the only real salvageable items on board were what weapons that could be found and the drive system which looked like a larger and more primitive version of the GFD.

Professor Willings went to work immediately studying the unknown drive tech, while Ronson and his staff reviewed the remainder of the ship. The reports so far indicate that any force using the level of technology this ship shows, would be unable to fight us on any real level without the use of their version of FTL. That meant that the Aurora's refit was going to be made top priority for Midway to complete, luckily for me the only technology not really tested on any level is the GFD.

And now I find myself in yet another meeting involving Aurora's refit and already my head feels like someone cracked it open with a hammer.

"What do you mean the lowngreen won't work on the primary bow? The system is designed to be installed on the primary bow itself, it will work perfectly just like it does on the Titan series." An angry tech screamed at Hermiod and Lt. Anderson.

Lt. Anderson looked pointedly at the tech, "It is exactly as Hermiod says. The forward bow can not with stand the strain of the lowngreen systems, not only is the unit itself bulky beyond the words the forward shield generators are located in the section you want to install that mammoth."

"I must say, that the design for this weapon array is not sound for warships such as the Aurora. For Recon/Scout ships such as the Titan series, it is a near perfect first strike weapon, but for ships such as Aurora the primary cannons are far superior as first strike weapons than the lowngreen unit." Hermiod had barely looked up as he said that. He is also correct in his comparison of the two first strike weapons, while a Titan Recon unit needs to be able to disable or destroy the enemy with the first shot; the Aurora does not.

"I say that you both just complacent with Aurora's current arsenal and are afraid of anything outside of those systems." The tech's belief that would get them to come to his way of thinking only made things worse.

"Really, than how about you pit that mammoth of yours against an Ori battlecrusier and see how long you last. You would be dead before you could get off a second shot; the damn thing is too big for the energy usage and to slow for its fire power. The only thing that it has going is the fact that the buffer allows you to carry the energy of the first shot itself. Enemies won't be able to tell it's ready to fire before it is too late." Lt. Anderson was certain we could get way without having the weapon installed, but this is part of the refit.

"Really how would you know all that, it is not like you built the system." The tech is so smug that he is right and Hermiod and Anderson are wrong.

"Actually, I only helped in the design phase. As the Fleet Weapons Officer at the time, I had to approve any weapon modifications made to the ships of the First Task Force. The damn thing did not even have a buffer at time and the energy requirements to fire were worse than you can imagine."

The techs all sat there slack jawed thinking that they were dealing with people whom only fought on the front lines. Not the people whom made their toys work on the battlefield, they seem to have forgotten that weapons have to be combat tested before mass usage is allowed.

"And then let's not get into the whole issue with leaving a ship dead in the water for ten seconds. In a fight every second counts, and a weapon that knocks you out of the fight for even a split second can get you killed."

During the triad from my SWO, I turn to Colonel Hunter to get her opinion on the weapons arrays that they want to install on the Aurora.

"Colonel, what to do you think of the new arrays? Looking at them there seems to be something off in the design."

Looking over the design again her facial expression changes from mild annoyance to anger. "Sir, look at the rear of the ship by the engines. These people are trying to get us killed the next time we go into combat."

Taking her suggestion, I look over the design for the rear of the ship. My eyes widen beyond belief; these people are insane, leaving the rear of the ship unguarded even with shields to pick up the slack can get us blown out of the stars faster than when we lost ships fighting against the Ori.

In fact upon closer inspection all of the new arrays are pointing to the front of the ship, none to Starboard or Port; hell none for Ventral or Dorsal. They even go as far as removing some of the pre-existing arrays to make room for the new ones. Even the Combat Flight Bay Arrays are facing only towards the bow; this will get our pilots killed if they even try to sortie. Hell this design turns the Aurora from a warship into a glorified gunboat, and even gunboats have at least one or two rear facing weapons.

"Can I ask are you trying to get us killed or are you just stupid? This design turns the Aurora into a glorified gunboat and that is if we're luckily enough to never go into combat. You leave us with nearly no defenses for the ship, what are we a giant first strike ship; the last I knew Aurora started out as a warship and according to the last I was informed the refit is to have the Aurora leave dry-dock as a warship."

This got everyone's attention right off the bat, forcing the techs to blanch at the verbal assault of my XO, whom went into detail on every system and array placement. Luckily the techs had the foresight to be silent during Christina's lecture about the appropriate design of a warship's weapons arrays. I am certain that whom ever it was that approved this layout is going to get their rear nailed to the wall by Will or as the Midway crew call him Lord Zeus.

"Okay, who is the head of the design team for Aurora's refit? Well I want an answer today people and while we're at it why redesign what has worked for years on the Flag Ship of the Star Forces of all ships." Will left no room for arguments; he wanted the rear of who ever had the brilliant idea of gutting Aurora. At least he is being merciful while Christina would ask permission to throw the responsible party out the nearest airlock.

"Sir, permission to throw the responsible tech out the nearest airlock, Sir." Speak of the devil and he shall appear; Christina definitely wants to set an example with these people. Probably thinking of the next ship and crew to suffer these idiots for a refit. I really would love to give permission, but these morons are Will's responsibility not mine.

"I am sorry Colonel Hunter, I would love to give you permission but it would take to long to train a new tech team to replace this group. Don't want to hold up any of the refits for the fleets, after all Midway is the primary dry-dock station for ship refits." The look on Will's face as he said that, told me he meant every word. I am glad to have a crew I can trust and not poor Will's crew, after all you need to be able to know and trust the people you work with especially out here in the void of space.

"Sir, I fully understand Commander Jones. This is a busy station for both Star Forces and civilian ships. But if you would not mind letting my request stand, I would be quite ready to act as needed in this case." Yep, Christina definitely wants to set an example with these people. I have never heard her ask to leave a request to space someone stand, let alone offer to carry out said request if permission is granted.

With the looks on the techs faces, it will take a while before the point one the responsible party. I best add to the momentum and see if this will get them to talk. "Colonel Hunter, you have my permission as Commander of Aurora to space whom you need to out of these idiots. But there is a condition before you begin." The looks on there faces tell me they are about ready to break.

Looking me in the eye, "Sir, what is the condition?"

"Simple, remember to download a copy of their memories and personality so we can clone the ones that are thrown outside." Both Will and Christina have smiles that threaten to split their heads in half, while the techs across form us look like their ready to drop to the deck.

"Sir, yes Sir," with a crisp salute she turns to face the techs with a look on her face that promises death to those that stand before her. Luckily enough a single tech is man-handled by his fellow techs, and is thrown to the front landing on his hands and knees in front of Colonel Hunter. This must be the poor soul whom decided to gut my ship; I guess that there is little to no loyalty to each other with these guys.

"Tech Sergeant Maples, I can ask you why you thought the Aurora could use this design above her current layout?" Will impatiently waited for a reply from Maples as he remained there on the deck. The look in Maples eyes told me everything I needed to know, he must have lost someone during one of the wars that we were dragged into over the years.

"Commander, ships like the Aurora should and need to carry the fire power to take down enemies in the first assault. Ships that do not carry such arsenals should be re-assigned to the roles of exploration, not defense. If they had this design from the beginning then we would still have Regina VI, especially if the Aurora had done the job properly."

Yea, that explained his mind set and the reason for the design layout for Aurora's refit. He must blame the Aurora herself for the loss at Regina, we had barely made it out of that system alive ourselves. Is it possible the Regina VI was his home before the Ori attacked us?

After the war had ended the Aurora returned to the Regina System to pay our respects at the Memorial on Regina II. Even as a young colony world Regina VI had a population of nearly one million sentients, primarily farmers and the likes so that Regina VI could be self-sufficient. If memory serves me correctly Regina VI and Regina II had been declared Independent Nation Worlds by Earth herself, before the war broke out. I guess that Maples must be one of those who won't forgive the Star Forces for the fall of Regina VI.

"Commander Jones, can you place Maples on temporary leave during the refit; or perhaps assign him to a different project?"

Will took a moment before answering me, he must have thought the same thing about Maples that I have. "I have no issue with it Commander Phoenix, just so long as it is understood that depending on his performance that it may turn into a section transfer."

Maples looked at me for a moment before signaling his understanding of his position, due to his view of the Aurora and the Star Forces. Using a spare padd Will entered into the Midway Mainframe, Maples re-assignment orders and than sent Maples on his way to the Station Duty Office. After which the meeting broke down into a full redesign on Aurora's weapons load-out and array placement. At the end the tech pushing the lowngreen was at least accepting of having the lowngreen placed at the rear of the ship to protect the engines.

Time Skip – T-Minus Three Weeks to Geodesic Jump

With everything going on it is surprising that the Senior Staff have been given leave now of all times. Of course none of us are complaining, not really any way. Before heading for the Gate Room I decide to look at Aurora one more time, she has been stripped of her armor and outer-hauls allowing me a clear view of the space-frame and several decks on board where they will be installing the new CFB. I can even see where the deck crew and pilots will be bunking after the refit is complete.

I wonder why Command has decide now of all times that warships like Aurora need to carry fighter groups like the new squadrons that we're taking on. But at least the new system will allow us to deploy and retrieve our fighters just that much faster, and the combat landing functions have been expanded greatly.

"Commander, heading back Earth side for leave?" I turn to notice Crew Chief Harris walking down the corridor towards me, on his shoulder is his travel pack.

"Yes, just wanted to look at the girl before heading to the gate. What about you Chief, heading back to Athos for some down time yourself?"

"Not really Sir, I am actually going to Regina II. Want to see my baby sister and her family before they move to stay with our parents in Atlantis."

"Really? I didn't realize that you have family in Regina, hope you don't mind me asking but did you lose anyone on Regina VI?"

For a moment my Senior NCO looks down to the Aurora before looking at me again. "Well Sir, the only person I lost at Regina VI; well you lost her also Sir."

"Yes, crewman Williams; she was with us for what two years before Regina? I am sorry we couldn't save her, and I had never really got to finish my conversation with her on what she was planning on doing with her life after her five years in the Star Forces was over."

"I know Sir, she was a great kid; hard working and never gave up on any task you would ask of her. Actually, I had gotten to talk to her about what she wanted to do; she was planning on going back to school and become a teacher. Guess she liked how one of us would always show her how something was done, I remember how she idealized you Sir."

"Really, I didn't do anything for people to idealize to my knowledge. I guess some people are just idealized aren't they Chief?"

"Actually Sir, it was because you would come down to the deck and help out when you weren't on duty. I remember this one time, it was about a month after she came on board; scared out of her mind about how the Commander would react when he found out that she scratched the paint on his personal fighter."

"Yes, I remember how she looked; it was the only time I saw her that way when I was on the deck."

"Yep, I remember you came walking up to her; she practically jumped out of her skin when you put your hand on her shoulder. I was just two stows over at the time; you asked her if she was ok, remember what she said to you?"

"Yes, I do; 'excuse me sir, but can you help me? I seem to have; um well I am in trouble. You see I scratched the Commander's Fighter and I don't know what to do.' I tried to put her mind at ease, didn't real do so well at first."

"Actually Sir, you did better than you're willing to admit. You spent an hour with her repainting the fighter; after you left she looked so happy that she had made a friend on board. I walked up to her and asked if everything was okay, she was walking on air as she answered; 'yes Chief, everything is great. Oh Chief can you tell me when John is back on shift, I really want to thank him for helping me with the Commander's Fighter.' She was so excited over the new friend whom helped keep her out of trouble with the Commander."

"How did you answer?"

"Simple, I said 'He is on shift at eight hundred in the morning. Stop by the bridge then and thank the Commander for helping you with his fighter.' The look on her face when she found out that her new friend who protected her from the Commander was the Commander was priceless."

"Really Chief, do you remember what happened the next morning?"

"No Sir, not really anyway; I was busy dealing with Jumper maintenance at the time and the XO was on my rear to finish. What did happen, all I remember about it is every time you were on deck after the following morning Williams blushed."

"Well you see when she made to the bridge the next morning, she was falling all over her words to try and thank me. I told her that she can speak freely, and the next thing I knew was that she had kissed me on my check and said 'Thank You, John' before leaving the bridge."

"Ah, so that is why she blushed around you so much. Bold girl, kissing the Commander even on the check normally gets the crew in trouble; I guess she hit your soft spot. Are you going to visit her when you're on Earth?"

"Yes, I visit every year and let her know what is going on with the Aurora and the crew. I also visit her parents when I can, her mother still cries over the picture I gave them; you remember the deck party to celebrate her first anniversary of joining the crew?"

"Yep, I remember those were good times and she hung on to you the whole time; I swear that she would never let you go even for a second. Cally thought it was cute and that if she didn't know any better that Melissa could have been Annalisa's mother."

As we reminisce about the past, a city wide announcement for Gate Travels to Earth to report to the Gate Room was made.

"Sorry Chief, that is my wormhole, is their anything you want from Earth?"

"Just one thing Sir, a message; 'We all miss you Melissa Williams'. You mind delivering it for the Deck Crew?"

"Sure thing Chief, sure thing; I will see you in about a week. Enjoy your time with your sister."

"See you in a week Sir."

As we went our separate ways for leave, I took the liberty of remembering all the times that I found Melissa asleep on the deck waiting to spend time with her friends. Ever since that faithful day that she asked for help with the F302 paint job, she had grown more open with the crew. I will definitely have to tell those stories to her parents once I am Earth side, it would make them happy to know that the crew still misses her after all this time. I walk in to the Gate Room just in time for the Gate to open to Earth, and before walking through I look one more time towards where I know the Aurora is sitting. "See you in a week Aurora," after which I step through the Stargate.


	5. Chapter 5 Geodesic Jump

Geodesic Jump – Cylon War

T-Minus One Week to Geodesic Jump

The work an Aurora's space-frame was completed last week and the new outer-haul and armor has been in place for the past few days. We have recently begun the shake down cruise to get the systems online and ready for standard flight. The part of the Aurora's refit that I hate the most has started and that is the new crew and officers being assigned to the ship. Luckily for me the new personnel are to supplement the current crew, of course there is one new crewman that everyone of the ships original crew is going to take under their wings.

NCO Amanda Williams, new member of the Deck Crew, she volunteered to join the Aurora's crew the moment she could. The Chief and most of the Deck Crew nearly had heart attacks the moment she stepped on deck; she is the spiting image of her older sister. Nearly half the crew looked as if they had seen a ghost and the other half we confused by the actions of their seniors. I of course had a big smile on my face, when I meet Amanda four years ago she was a hyper-active high school student who hero worshiped her sister for being a member of the Aurora's Crew.

At the time, Melissa wanted to introduce me as a fellow crewmember and not the ship CO; and after meeting her sister I understood why. Amanda had latched onto my arm the moment she saw the Aurora ship-patch on my shoulder and had asked my name while calling me 'Big Brother'. I just could not resist the look she had at the time, so I said she can call me big brother; only if her parents and sister agreed. We ended up spending the re-supple time telling stories about the different missions we were on, Amanda hung on every word.

After the funeral, I had spoken to the Williams; trying my hardest to apologize for failing to protect their daughter. It was Amanda whom was the most understanding, and oddly enough had asked to join the Aurora to carry on her sister's work. I had promised them that I would not fail again, Mr. Williams told me to keep my eyes on Amanda when she would join the crew. I intend to keep my promise to them and Amanda, so when I was given a list of all the available officers and crew; I immediately selected Amanda from the list to join the Aurora.

During new crew boarding for refits, it is tradition that the ship CO greets the crew, while the ship XO calls off their names and bunk assignments. This tradition has been long running for the Navy and was adopted by the Star Forces, as a means to show that in a way that we are a Navy ourselves. It was as Amanda was walking up to us that the crew present on the deck were shocked by her appearance, she was even wearing Melissa's old jacket from the deck party.

"Sir, NCO Amanda Williams reporting for duty." Standing at attention in front of Colonel Hunter, Amanda looked as sharp as she could. Christina gave a nod of approval to Amanda; the only thing that seemed off was the jacket she is wearing. Before I could be introduced Amanda took the initiative and promptly turned to face me, the look in her eyes gave me enough warning to brace myself before she jumped at me.

"Big Brother," and a second later she had herself wrapped around me, like she was a five year old in a candy store. Those of the crew who were not with us from before the Ori War, looked at Amanda as if she suddenly grew a second head. The senior Deck Crew just laughed at the sight before them, while the XO seemed to be losing her temper fast.

"Amanda, as much as I love seeing you again, you might want to let go of me."

"Why Big Brother?" I just point to Colonel Hunter and Amanda stood straight with a bolt, I guess having an XO like Christina is enough for the edema 'The XO is the hardest on the crew, to make the old man look good'.

"NCO Williams, what is this all about, calling your new CO 'Big Brother' is a fine way to get thrown in the brig. Did you come all the way to Midway just for that, answer me crewman?" Of course now the Chief can see the family resemblance with the way Amanda is blanching under the XO's triad.

With a quick sigh, "Colonel, just assign her some quarters and let's get moving already. Don't forget we have a schedule to keep to for the shake down cruise, or did you forget that we have to test the GFD by the end of the week?"

"Yes Sir, Bunk Five-B in Crew Quarters Eleven-C on Deck Nine, Starboard Section Fifteen. Place your belongs on your bunk and report to the crew mess hall for you official assignment." The way she said it, there is definitely going to be a few issues between them at this rate, better do a quick nip to stop it here.

"Amanda, after your things are away, get back here to the Deck, the Chief already has your assignment." Colonel Hunter looked at me with her normal pointed look as if saying, 'Are you going to make my life difficult just for your entertainment?'

"Yes Sir, Big Brother," and she was off before the XO could give her another dressing down for calling me her big brother. Of course the Chief stepped in to safe my hid somewhat, "So, Melissa's old job Sir, or just have her scratch your fighter and call you to help her paint it?"

The Deck Crew choose this time to break out into a laughing fit, weather it was at me or Christina; well I am still uncertain but the look on Christina's face tells me that this will be a long five years for Amanda. Me and my big mouth always getting me in trouble with my own XO, little choice I guess, "Show her where Melissa did it, and then call me."

Turning around the Chief quickly shouts "Okay, get the Commander's 302 out of its bay and have five cans of paint in the appropriate colors ready with in the next ten minutes. Let's go people this is Melissa's baby sister haul your rears and get moving; we need to give her a proper welcome the way only Melissa can give her."

The still waiting crew looked at the invigorated Deck Crew follow the Chief's orders, while I am certain wondering why do all this for one new crewman. Even the XO seemed puzzled by the Deck Crew and myself, in the entire time we have served together this has never occurred before now. "Just welcoming back a member of the family Colonel, you'll understand tonight at the formal Crew Dinner." We left the conversation as it was after that and returned to welcoming the new crew aboard, took nearly four hours to complete; why assign this ship with a little over four thousand people?

During the Crew Dinner, I gave Christina quite the headache; instead of sitting at the main table like a Commander should during these functions, I wondered around the crew tables. I was looking for Amanda and as I had guessed she is sitting with the Deck Crew, each of them telling her stories about her sister.

"And then Melissa slips on the deck wax them moment the Commander walks up to us. She fell right on top of him; I swear to you that they were just mere inches from kissing. It was great; would have been better if the XO at the time had just ignored what happened and walked off. That man was the worst yet, at least the other XOs had the sense to keep quiet and watch the show." Yep, Cally had to be critical of each XO; but to tell Amanda that story; well I have a better one for them.

"Really, if memory serves me correctly it was you that the XO put in hack for eight hours for putting deck wax where people walk. Thou, it was actually closer to half an inch because of your stunt Cally." They all turn to look at me and Cally has the decency to look like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"Of course, that is nothing in comparisons to what Amanda here wore for Halloween five years ago." Yea, that got their attention and Amanda's blush going.

Crewman Jonas looked at Amanda and then me, "What did she wear Sir, you have got to tell us."

I take the liberty to join them at the table next to Amanda, "you see, Amanda here was so enamored with the Star Forces that she wore Melissa's uniform from basic training. Normally this would not be an issue, but that night a number of the cadets were out of the dorms. To make matters worse for little Amanda, Melissa had been assigned to the Aurora and was onboard for nearly three months; so when the MPs picked her up, the first thing that entered their heads was 'Deserter'."

By this time the Chief had joined us and while Amanda tried to get me to stop the Chief picked up where I had left off. "That wasn't the half of it; the jar-heads who brought Amanda in really believed her to be Melissa. When the computer said that Melissa was assigned to be on Aurora, they decided to call me first as the immediate superior officer. Since we were still in the solar system for a standard patrol, it made Amanda's case just that much worse in the eyes of the jar-heads that grabbed her. Imagine my surprise to see a deck hand I had seen no more than two minutes ago on the other side of the comm. link scared out of her mind."

Amanda decided that since I was no-longer talking that it was safe to go after the Chief, her mistake. "That was when the Chief here called my quarters, we were in the middle of a poker game and Melissa was beating the crap out us. Who knew that Melissa was that good at bluffing; not to mention in the end all of her hands there was no way she could have won one hand, let alone beat us during the whole game. But anyway here we were into our third hand when the Chief calls in, I was thinking that he was letting us know that he would be right up to join us; but no it was about Melissa being AWOL."

Amanda was now disparately trying to keep me and the Chief quiet, while Cally decided to raze her further. "Well what happened, you can't leave us hanging without a clue as to what happened to our newest Knuckle Dragger"

"Simple, the MPs clearly said, 'Commander, we have a member of your crew here in custody. Apparently she has gone AWOL, we can hold her here until you can retrieve her or send her with the next scheduled Jumper to your flight path.' Clearly this had me confused as to who went AWOL, so I asked; 'Whom is it Sergeant?'" It is at this part of the story that Amanda just looks at her dinner with extreme interest.

"The MPs were quite sure when they answered, 'NCO Melissa Williams, Sir.' I looked over at Melissa and mouth 'what do you clone yourself or something?' Suffice it say, Melissa got up and walked over to join me at my desk to ask the MPs if they were stupid or something along those lines. That was when she saw Amanda here in the background wearing her old uniform from basic, before I could even ask her what was going on she yelled; 'What are you morons doing to my baby sister? Do you even realize that you picked up an under-age civilian and treated her like a deserter? Do you even realize how much trouble you idiots are in; just wait till the JAG hears about this. I am going to lodge a formal complaint and have you asses over this, do you understand me?' I had to physically remove her from my desk to get her to calm down, it took Charlie and Anderson to hold her back so I could resume the conversation without Melissa trying to jump through the comm. link to try and kill the poor MPs."

I took a sip of the nearby water, Amanda's to be precise; in order to get the Deck Crew a little on the edge of their seats it work quite well. "Well suffice it to say, I pulled up Melissa's record to see where her parents lived. The MPs really did do a good job at ending their time in the service, did you know at the time Melissa's family was living in a small town just north of New York City. The MPs were calling us from Andrews Air Force base in California; they hauled poor Amanda here across the country without thinking. I had to act fast, so 'Okay, the Aurora will be in orbit within the next five minutes; I want to see the both of you and your superior officer the moment I get there. Aurora out.' I turn to Melissa and acting quickly to save my own skin, 'Melissa when we get there it is open season on those MPs, Okay?'

I turn to see Amanda smiling while still looking down to her dinner; she must still remember what Melissa did to those MPs. "After promising Melissa that she could have the MPs nailed to the wall so to speak, I called Ronson to let him know why we were leaving our patrol early. Trust me when I say this Ronson was not at all happy, the MPs had just smudged the name of the Star Forces big time; he was ready to bury them alive over this. Anyway, five minutes later as promised we were orbiting over Earth and Melissa had insisted on going down with me and the XO. The moment we ringed into the base, we were able to hear crying; Melissa took off in a dead run for the source, which happened to be the base commanders office. I promise you this much, if you ever stood in Melissa's way when it comes to Amanda here; well we would have to have funerals for Melissa's victims."

It was at this moment that Amanda decided to join in to fray, "They told me to follow them to their Commander, when we got there they started accusing me of all these mean things." Amanda than grabbed my arm and nodded that I could continue, and so "The moment we arrived at the Base Commanders office Melissa decides it is a good idea to break his door in. This was an oak wood door, very expensive; but anyway after entering the room we find General Ronson and his aid who was trying to comfort Amanda; A very pissed of Army General and the moronic MPs. The General was reaching for his phone when Ronson order him to stand down; this did not go over well with the General trust me on that."

"Sir, what happened?" Crewman Garret piped up, no doubt wondering if we had gotten in trouble for destroying a door.

Shaking my head for moment, "Well the General Willis I believe it was wanted Melissa's rear nailed to his wall for breaking his precious door. Of course Ronson is not one to be upped by anyone and so 'You can consider that partial payment for what you and your man have done to this poor girl Private.' If Willis wasn't seeing red before, well he definitely was now Ronson had implied that the man was going to be demoted on a serious level. Willis decided to get Melissa's name, so he could at least take her down with him, since me and Ronson were to well seen in the public eye as can be doing no wrong; something I still dislike mind you. 'What is you name soldier?' Melissa just looked at him sharply and replied 'NCO Melissa Williams, Sir.' This forced Willis to take a step back that was a mistake on his part. Melissa decides to force him back even further with, 'Your so called men can't even do their jobs properly can they? If they had taken the time to check to see if I had been declared AWOL, none of this would have happened. But no, instead they kidnap my baby sister; treat her as if she is a criminal and than have the gall to traumatize her further by making her look like the bad guy in front you.''

Now Amanda was looking straight at her fellow Knuckle Draggers with a smile splitting her face in half. "Ronson went into how Melissa could have been on leave for any number of reasons and how the MPs had ignored protocol for handling possible AWOLs. In the end Ronson decided the best way to save face was for Amanda here to choose their punishment."

Cally couldn't contain herself and bending over the table, "What did you decide Amanda we have got to know?" Amanda looked at me for a moment and than back to Cally and said, "The meanies should pick up trash for years." I decide to keep the Deck Crew from further begging "Ronson took Amanda's choice and not only busted them all down to Private, but assigned them to debris hauling until Earth orbit is clear of any debris."

The entire table whistled about that punishment, to lose not only your rank and be assigned to debris hauling, but for it to be the suggestion of a child was even worse. I look at the Chief and "Yo Chief, remember when did they finish that job?" "Sir, you know full well that they would be finished sometime in twenty seventy-five, close to sixty years from now." The Chief just shook his head as he answered, while the crew looked amazed that such a punishment had not been made public. From there dinner petty much went as it was scheduled, despite my attempts to get out of the 'Welcome Aboard' speech.

It was nearly three hours after dinner when Amanda made it to the starboard flight deck, and made her way to the fighter that was sitting in the middle of the deck. "Did you know that is the very same fighter that Melissa had scratched the paint on a month after she came on board?" Amanda looked at me for a moment, slightly confused why I would mention that; taking the liberty to grab a wrench off of the tool cart, I walk over to Amanda. "In fact this is the same type of tool that Melissa had in her hand when she scratched it," after handing it to her I pull her on to the port wing. "In fact it was right here where she scratched it, can you do me something, please drop the wrench right here."

Amanda looked at me for a moment and then dropped the wrench creating a new scratch mark right next to the one her sister and I painted over all those years ago. "Okay, now lets paint this fighter shall we" hopping off the wing I retrieve the paint that the Deck Crew had left just under the wing. "Well are you going to help fix the paint job? After all this is how you sister and I became friends." That is when realization dawned on Amanda, I was re-creating the event where Melissa had started opening up to the crew and making a new family from the Aurora. Amanda gladly nodded her head and joined me in painting the fighter; she even made the same painting mistakes as her sister, which I pointed out to her. We ended up spending an hour working on the paint job, if anything the only difference is that Amanda doesn't have to start shift for a day.

As we finished the newest paint job the Chief strolled up to us, "Sir, Amanda I hate to say this but the crew showers are acting up. I wont have them working until tomorrow afternoon, sorry" I think the universe is trying to play with me at times, of course Amanda can never be Melissa but I can still make Amanda feel at home and bring her into the family that Melissa was forming here on the ship. "That is okay Chief, Amanda can use my shower for tonight; don't want to let that paint become apart of your hair now do we?"

"Amanda, go get your spare uniform from your bunk, I will meet you at the forward Officer Quarters in a few minutes. I want to talk to the Chief for a moment." With a nod of understanding Amanda heads off to her bunk, while I turn to the Chief with a look on my face demanding answers. "Chief the crew-showers are working just fine are they not? What are you up too with this little stunt, well?" The Chief looked at me for a moment before speaking, he must have seen it to; he has been on the battlefield just like the rest of us.

"Sir, just giving you two the chance for a proper welcome home. She needs this, you know it, I know it and even the entire crew from back then knows it; just creating the needed excuse for this to happen in private. Think of it as our way of saying good bye to Melissa and welcoming Amanda into the family. Sir, let her have the same shoulder her sister had to cry on; if for nothing else other than to let Amanda know that we are family for her."

Yep, the Chief saw it too, perhaps even more of the Deck Crew. But at least they are keeping it out of view of the newly arrived members. "Sure Chief, and please thank the others for pulling this together. She really does need to let it out, going though the whole day with no way to vent isn't healthy for anyone, thanks again." With that I left the Chief and made my way forward towards my quarters, hopefully Amanda will open up enough to become comfortable around the crew.

Time Skip – Two Hours to Geodesic Jump

We are nearing the time for the GFD testing and the bridge crew is starting to show their excitement over the new FTL drive capabilities that we will have if the jump goes as planed. Dr. Myers is manning the jump control console towards the port rear of the bridge; I have to wonder why Professor Willings is not here for the testing of his drive project.

"Colonel, take us out of dock and set course for Test Marker One, standard cruising speed."

Looking at me for a moment, before turning back to the crew I manage to see a faint smile forming on Christina's lips. "Yes Sir. Mister Polk, release the docking clamps and move us out of dock, after we are clear set course for Test Marker One and engage engines at standard cruising speed."

"Confirmed, docking clamps are clear and we are clearing the dock. Setting course for Test Marker One, at standard cruising speeds, Sir." Even as Charlie worked the console in front of him, I could tell that what he really wants is to work the jump console. While all this is going on I decide to check on another section of the ship, "Chief is Amanda down there? I'm thinking that she might want to have a front row view of the test jump."

For just a moment the Chief disappears from my screen, must be checking the deck. The moment he returns, the look he has tells me I should be ready for anything heading my way. "Sir, she just took off, like a 302 going into combat; better brace yourself she is going to be coming in hot right for you on the bridge."

"Thanks for the warning, have the crew lock down the fighters, but make certain we can still rapid deploy them if it is necessary. Bridge Out." Closing the comm. link I start to get up from my command chair, and move over to one of the spare command consoles. The one on starboard side is used by the XO, so I begin activating the port side unit, I want to make sure that Amanda has secure seating just incase. The plan for the test jump is for all crew to secure quarters and then themselves, just in case something happens during the jump.

Just as I am finishing my task Amanda enters the bridge with one of her hundred watt smiles adorning her face. I signal her to approach my position and motion for her to sit in the chair next to me. "Sir, what do you need?" I guess she is trying to keep out of trouble with the XO, well might as well have some fun. "Yes crewman, I need you to sit right here for the duration of the test jump, and be a clam and collected," before finishing my statement I take a quick look to see that Christina is close enough to hear me "Baby Sister." Just as Amanda nods at me her eyes filled with glee, "Sir, just what are you doing, this is no way for a Commander to treat a crewman. Let alone a crewman who has no respect for her superior officers; just what are you thinking?"

I walk back to my command chair and as I sit down, "I am thinking that as a member of this crew, and especially this family; that Amanda has the right to watch the show we are going to be putting on. And secondly what she calls me is nothing to be dressed down for, unless it interferes with her performing her duty am I understood Colonel?"

The way I said it left the XO with no room for argument, well I hope it left no room for argument but knowing Christina she will find a way. "Put me on ship-wide. Attention all crew, we are about to test the newest FTL Drive tech developed by the Scientist Council. Secure the ship for test jump; we will be jumping in twenty-five minutes from now."

It took less than fifteen minutes for all sections to report ready for the test jump, with a quick look at Dr. Myers I knew we were as ready as we would every be. "Okay Doctor, this is your show now." Dr. Myers looked at me for a moment before responding, "Thank you Commander. I have set the coordinates for the jump to take us within two light hours of Test Marker Two, currently at a distance of one thousand light years from our present position."

"Well Doctor, I suggest that we begin. Put me on ship-wide; attention, we are going to initiate Geodesic Jump; all personnel secure yourselves at this time." After cutting of ship-wide I signal the good doctor to begin the jump sequence.

As we heard the energy buildup of the GFD activating, I suddenly felt as if someone was pulling me apart. The feeling was uncomfortable to say the least, but at least it was fleeting and at the moment we heard a low sounding boom the feeling vanished. But the amazing and freighting part of the whole process was that the view of the surrounding space changed from a void of darkness to one filled with stars. I look towards Dr. Myers for an explanation only to see panic on her face.

"Doctor, what happened weren't we suppose to jump to Test Marker Two? From the looks of the surrounding space we are definitely inside of a galaxy, so can you explain what happened?" Before she could answer Hermiod called from Engineering, "Commander, the buffer for the GFD is overloading; we are unable to stop the energy from cascading. If we do not jettison the buffer immediately we will lose the ship." Of all things to happen at least we can dump it, before it can blow and take out the ship.

"Hermiod, jettison the buffer module for the GFD now. Charlie once the module is off the ship, jump us into hyperspace and get us clear of the blast zone." The both of them quickly confirmed and within mere seconds the module was floating outside of the ship with the energy cascade running out of control, Charlie cold starts the hyper-drive and we jump a distance of eighteen light minutes. We emerge from hyperspace just in time to watch the module explode with the force of fifteen megatons.

"Okay Doctor, I want you to figure out what happened. Charlie, can you pin point our current position and plot us a course back to Midway? With what happened it is back to the drawing board for the GFD Project." It was then that Ensign Corman had picked up a signal, "Sirs, I am picking up a transmission on an EM modulation frequency. It appears to be an S.O.S., judging by the signal strength and directionality it appears to be fifteen light minutes out; at Alpha-Green-Charlie seven-five." With a quick look to Charlie, we immediately jumped back into hyperspace making our way to the source of the signal.

Upon arrival we are witness to the debris field of a small battle, the remains of either a ship or station are directly in the path of the S.O.S. that we are detecting. "Lt. Anderson, can you detect any life-signs among the debris field?" "Yes Sir, it appears to be some kind of shuttle; two life-signs very faint. I recommend that we use the Asgard Transporter to bring them directly to Medical and that we have Security post a guard." Conferring with the XO for a moment, we both agree to bring the survivors aboard. "Lt. Anderson, lock on to their signals and transport them immediately; also call down to the deck and have the Chief ready to receive what remains of their ship."

We quickly make our way to Medical, where we find Hiendol working with her staff to stabilize her newest patients. "Hiendol, can you tell me anything about them?" Just as she begins to answer me, one of the survivors screams. "Cylons, we have to get word to the fleet. The Cylons have broken the armistice, their going to attack the colonies; we have to get word to them quickly before the Cylons can attack." Two members of Security are trying to hold him down while Keith injects him with a mild sedative.

"Son, I need you to clam down and tell me what happened here. Was there anyone else besides the two of you in your ship?" Even as the sedative took affect, the poor man was still traumatized by what had happened. I am uncertain of how but even in his state he was able to give me a brief run down of what had happened.

"We had just secured the shuttle when we noticed what looked to be some kind of ship dock on the Cylon side of Armistice Station. It looked like the Cylons were finally going to talk with us after forty years, but after only a minute it disengaged from the station and left. That was when we saw the ship above us; it looked like a star and was easily bigger than any Battlestar. They shot at us, two missiles hit the station they killed the Colonel and even their own people on board; debris from the station hit us, that must be why the Cylons left us for dead."

As he spoke, his eyes were filled with fear not fear of his death but fear of what would happen if he couldn't get home with the information he no had. "Sir, you have got to get us back to Picon HQ. They have to know what is happening with the Cylons." "Just a moment son, Hiendol is it possible for me to borrow this young man so we can plot a course to Picon?" Hiendol, like her usual self was looking after the other survivor and was outside of sight when she answered. "Yes, other than slight atmosphere deprivation he shall be fine. Just ensure that he does not perform any strenuous movements for the next twenty-four hours."

"What is you name son?" He looked at me for a moment before answering, "Captain Joshua Gaeta, Colonel Fleet assigned to Picon HQ. Sir if you don't mind what is this ship and who are you?" "Mister Gaeta, I am Commander Phoenix and this is the Warship Aurora. Now if you don't mind let's get to the bridge and plot a course for Picon, shall we."


	6. Chapter 6 Warstar Zeus

Warstar Zeus – Rescue at Picon

T-Plus One Hour from Geodesic Jump

As we return from Medical with Mister Gaeta in tow, I have to consider the possibility that we have reached the origin of the Cylon ship still in the Midway dry-docks. Walking onto the bridge I order, "Charlie bring up the Navigational map, we need to plot a course to a nearby star system. Am I correct Mister Gaeta?" Looking behind us, I notice that Mister Gaeta is staring directly at the view port. I wonder why that is, could it be that they don't have translucent Neutroniam to use on their ships?

"Mister Gaeta, are you alright?" Gaeta turns from looking at the view port to me, "Sir, why is there a window of all things on a warship. An enemy can take advantage of that and cripple this ship in one hit." Yep, they must not have reached the level of development to create translucent metals. Glass would never be able to survive the velocities the ships back home can reach, even ships unable to reach the point two light speed barrier would not survive with glass as a part of the structure.

"Mister Gaeta that is a special translucent metallic alloy that allows us to be able to view the outside of the ship. If you are looking in from outside, it would look like the rest of the haul armor; we actually stopped using glass in the construction of anything outside of a house around six years ago." The look on his face clearly showed awe at the fact that what he believed to be glass was in reality metal. "If you can help us plot a course, we can get to Picon just that much sooner. I do believe you wanted to warn them about a pending Cylon attack, is that correct?"

Gaeta quickly approached the Navigational and Helm console, just as Charlie brought up the Holo-Map of the immediate surrounding space. Once again Gaeta stopped in his tracks and just stared at the technology that we take for granted, they must be less advanced than I first believed. "Before you ask Mister Gaeta, this is a holographic interface drive, in short we project what our computer screens can show us into a fully interactive three dimensional model." At least this time, Gaeta was able to recover fast enough to point out our destination. I motion for Charlie to focus on the system in question so we can get accurate coordinates for transit.

"Excuse me Sir, but how long will it take to plot the jump to Picon orbit?" I signal Charlie to answer that while I move back to my command chair. "Simple, based off of the course and then the orbital pathway of Picon and the stellar bodies of your star system. I would venture a guess at roughly two hours, two and a half; if we have to dropout of hyperspace outside of the Oort cloud." "Oort cloud?" Gaeta clearly is showing confusion about our methods of navigation and astrometry. "Yea, the Oort cloud is a debris field left behind by the formation of a star system. Every star system has one, depending on the age of the system it could be a few feet in depth to easily several light minutes. We use the Oort cloud as a measurement system to help determine the age of a star system and all the stellar bodies within."

"Charlie, you can share astrometry knowledge after we get Mister Gaeta back to his home. Put me on ship-wide; attention all hands, we have rescued two survivors from a debris field just outside of the ship. We are now going to jump into hyperspace on a course that will take us to their home star system. Standby for combat conditions, when we arrive it is possible that we will be going into a battle-zone. All I can say is this, remember your training and be confident in your crewmates and we will get through this together. That is all."

Looking around the bridge, I can see everyone is ready, even Amanda appears to be ready for a fight if it comes down to that. "Okay Charlie, take us into hyperspace and get us to Picon" "Yes Sir, entering hyperspace now." In an instant the familiar purple cloud of the hyperspace window forms in front of us, and the ship dives in leaving the debris field behind. We spend the next two hours traveling through hyperspace, heading towards our destination of Picon. During this time Charlie and Gaeta talk about the astrometry knowledge of both the colonies and of back home. Gaeta seems to be interested in how we developed our means of faster than light travel, apparently for his people their space flight abilities were gifts from their gods.

Due to our training with first contact situations we have yet to say anything that could upset Mister Gaeta, but I am certain that is only a matter of time. I quickly order the crew go to first contact protocols for non-combat conditions, while Charlie explains to Gaeta that this is so we do not offend him or his beliefs. During this, Amanda is still on the bridge and due to the possibility of combat I can't just send her on her way. With a quick glance at the command console she is positioned at I realize that there is a spare chair next to hers. I can ask Mister Gaeta to sit there for the duration of combat conditions, and once we are clear than I can send Amanda back to the deck and assign a liaison officer to Gaeta.

Just as I was about to suggest that Gaeta move over to the command consoles, the outside space begins to change and we shake violently. "Charlie, what is going on?" "No clue, wait oh not good. The hyperspace in this area appears to be in a state of flux, if we don't dropout soon we might be ripped apart by tidal forces." "How close are we to Picon?" It is at this point I motion for Mister Gaeta to take a seat as quickly as he can. "We'll be just outside of the Oort cloud in a few seconds." "Charlie, drop us out of hyperspace. We will just have to transverse the remaining distance in normal space."

We emerge from hyperspace just within a few hundred kilometers from the outer Oort cloud. Just as quickly our new standard drives kick-in and we move towards the cloud at speeds that easily cause Gaeta to look on in awe. "How is this possible? We should be dead at these speeds, but it feels like we're standing still." Charlie glances at me for permission to explain things to Gaeta and I nod my head in approval.

"Gaeta, we use a shielding system that affects the mass of the ship and the inertia that is imposed upon it. Our engines are also designed to move the ship into a semi-phase between normal space and hyperspace to allow us faster the light speeds while still in normal space itself." Gaeta had to shake his head; all of this knew information was possibly causing him a headache of massive proportions. He looked at me, "What else can you do? Are you willing to share this with my people, with this level of technology we can move between colonies in hours instead of days?"

I had to smile at is infusionism, but luckily enough due to the possible attack on his people I can get him to focus on other things. "Mister Gaeta, only after we make certain that your people are safe will we even start to talk about technological exchanges. But in the mean time, can you give Ensign Corman the hyper-subspace frequencies so we can contact Picon?" Once again Gaeta gave me a look of confusion in regards to my request, "What is hyper-subspace?" This brought Ensign Corman to my rescue, "Sir, I believe that their form of wireless communications utilize modulated EM waves that travel no faster than the speed of light itself."

Now it was my turn to be confused, these people were capable of FTL travel, but they are limited to old style radio communications. "Ensign how long until we are within real-time communications range with Picon?" Before Corman could answer me Lt. Anderson shouts, "Sirs, multiple missile tracks baring two-eight-six by Orange-Blue-Bravo three-one. They appear to be locked on a ship roughly half our size, do you want me to put it up on the main screen?" I quickly nod to Lt. Anderson who transfers the image to the main holo-screen, allowing the image of the ship in question to appear.

"That's a Guardian class Battlestar. Can you tell who is shooting at them?" Gaeta is now clearly panicking, is it that we are too late to warn his people of a pending attack. The image then zooms out to show us the attacking ship, it appears to be an odd star-shaped design and is clearly meant as more of a carrier that a ship. "Sir, that is the same type of ship that destroyed Armistice, it has to be the Cylons. Can we do anything to help them?"

"Ensign Corman, open communications on all frequencies. Attention hostile vessel, this is the Warship Aurora of the Star Forces, we request a cessation of hostilities. We come in peace and request a formal discussion to resolve any disagreements between yourselves and the Colonies." Hopefully they will listen to reason, but then again they might believe that we are members of the colonies.

"Sirs, I have multiple targeting lasers locking on to us. Confirmed we've been painted, also confirming multiple fighter size ships moving to intercept us." Oh well, guess that diplomacy is not something these Cylons have an interest in; but perhaps a little show of force will get their attention. "Lt. Anderson, lock on to one of the outer pylons of the hostile vessel with the port side Valiant and fire a warning shot."

Lt. Anderson quickly compiled and right in front of us the port side valiant fired, the yellow streak of the HV Plasma Slug quickly and effortlessly grazes the hostile. Without warning the inbound fighters come to a complete stop and held their positions from the Aurora. "Lt. Anderson, can you tell why the hostiles have ceased movement?"

"Unknown, but at least it looks like they might be willing to talk now." It was Gaeta that seemed to have the answer to the Cylons odd actions, "It is your weapon that caused them to stop. The Fleet doesn't have anything that comes close to that valiant of yours, you just shot at a ship over what a hundred thousand kilometers away?" "Closer to one hundred and fifty thousand kilometers, but yes about that far," Lt. Anderson didn't seem impressed by the distance.

"That is exactly it, one second you fire the weapon and the next second it is grazing a ship far enough out that it takes several minutes for missiles to reach. This is something that last I knew is impossible and yet where you are easily capable of such feats. From the reactions of the Cylons, even they don't have such capabilities as your ship here appears have." As I look at Mister Gaeta, his statement makes the most sense; here we are in a region of space with weapons that could possibly make the first strike weapons of the area look like pea shooters.

"Sirs, we are receiving a response from the hostile. Confirmed as modulated EM brand transmission, should I put it up on the overhead?" I nod my consent to hear the message, "To the ship calling itself Aurora, we do not recognize your class of Battlestar. If you value your lives than leave this area immediately, we are giving you this one chance at survival; we suggest that you take it." They really think that as members of the Star Forces that we are going to let them attack people without cause, they are quite incorrect.

"To the hostile ship, the Aurora is an Aurora class Warship of the Galactic Star Forces. We are not nor have ever been a Battlestar, nor do we have any affiliation with the peoples of this star system beyond rescue of survivors at the Armistice Station. I apologize that we were unable to rescue any of your own people, there were only two survivors in a small shuttle that was damaged by the station's destruction." Before I could receive a response Colonel Hunter whispered to me that someone was trying to hack into the Aurora's Mainframe Systems.

"Hostile ship, please be advised that we have detected an intrusion attempt into our ship board mainframe. I suggest that you secure your systems immediately in order to prevent the hacker from gaining access to your ship's systems." This time the response was not what I was hoping for, "How are you able to detect and stop our attempts to gain control of you ship? Humans do not have the technological capability to prevent us from controlling their systems." I narrowed my eyes at this; the hacker was apparently a member of their crew and had been order to access our mainframe.

"Then I believe you have just met the stronger force in the realm of cyber-warfare. I suggest that you reconsider talking with the people of this star system, it would be better for everyone involved if you do." I hope the unspoken threat to them will be enough to get them to consider open talks with at least us. "Sirs confirmed multiple missile launches from Hostile Ship Alpha. Also confirming movement of hostile fighters on attack paths." I guess not, might as well show them what they are up against. "Lt. Anderson, load up the Hell-Darts for intercept of enemy fighters and target Enemy Alpha with two Sledgehammers and fire!"

For just a few moments the Cylons seemed confident in their victory over the Aurora, but the rapid launches of the hell-darts and sledgehammers quickly changed that belief. The hell-darts effortlessly took out over half of the Cylon fighters before they could react, while the other half were damaged or even destroyed by the remains of their comrades. The Cylon ship did not even last half as long as their fighters and while their missile assault gave them some cover, they had obviously never encountered a missile like the sledgehammers; the ship was destroyed by the hundred pounding strikes.

It had ended just as quickly as it had begun for the battle between the Aurora and the Cylon ship. "Lt. Anderson, can you detect any survivors on that Battlestar?" Lt. Anderson looked intently at the sensor readouts, "Sir, I am picking up roughly one thousand life signs on board. Captain Gaeta, can you tell me the standard crew complement of a Guardian class Battlestar?" Gaeta looked somewhat sullen at the number of detected life signs, "Standard crew is thirteen hundred for battlestars of this class."

I can understand his pain, but at least the majority of the crew is alive in order to pickup the pieces and continue forward. "Ensign Corman, try and establish communications with that battlestar." "Sir, I have them; patching it in now."

"This is the Warship Aurora, to the Guardian class battlestar; can you receive this message?"

_This is the Colonial Battlestar Valkyrie, to the ship calling itself Aurora. We request that you transmit recognization codes._

"Colonial Battlestar Valkyrie, I hate to say this but we do not carry any colonial codes on board. But we do have survivors from the Armistice Station on board."

_This is Valkyrie Actual, did you say Armistice Station?_

"Confirmed Valkyrie Actual, we have a Captain Joshua Gaeta here on the bridge."

_Aurora, I would like to speak with Captain Gaeta._

I signal for Gaeta to take over the conversation.

"Sir, this is Captain Gaeta, Colonial Fleet Service Number N5-33612-P13 Assigned to Picon Fleet Headquarters. I was on the run to Armistice with Colonel Blake for the Annual Peace Talks with the Cylons, when suddenly the Cylons launched an attack killing Colonel Blake and destroying the station."

_Captain Gaeta, let me ask you this; how is it that you are on a ship that was easily capable of taking out a Cylon Basestar on its own._

"Sir, I was brought aboard when they responded to the emergency beacon on the shuttle. And as for how they were able to destroy the Cylon basestar; they are very advanced."

_I see Captain; let me speak with their Commander._

"This is Commander Phoenix; can we be of any assistance to you?"

_Actually Commander I was going to ask for just that. Our jump drives are offline, along with the jump computers; we are just getting weapons online again and our Viper launch systems are back online. I am hoping that you can help get our jump drives back online so we can rejoin our battle group. The Zeus jumped ahead with the others to Picon, while we stayed behind to cover their jump._

"I am not certain about getting your FTL drives online, but we are heading for Picon ourselves to deliver Captain Gaeta to your Fleet HQ. Perhaps we can give you a lift with the Aurora; it might not be what you are use to, but it will get us there."

_Right now any way to reach Picon and the Zeus will be more than welcomed, frak we would even let the Cylons tow us there if they would bother to do so. I see no problem in the Aurora giving us a lift, but how are you going to jump us both, it will take to long to physically marry both ships together for a single jump._

"That will be simple enough Valkyrie Actual, stand by. Charlie, move us to just above the Valkyrie and extend the drive field to encompass the Valkyrie, after which get us to Picon orbit and you are authorized for Burnout speeds." Charlie shook his head for a moment before grinning; the Aurora had never really been pushed to burnout speeds for the engines. I guess we will see if the Aurora can break the warp speed barrier without warp drive, I better warn the Valkyrie.

"Valkyrie Actual, standby for towing. You might want to have everyone brace themselves; this is going to be a little intense."

_Confirmed Aurora, we are ready here._

"Good, Mister Polk you are go for burnout." The scene in front of changed from a view of distant stars and nearby planets, to that of streaks of white and black. This lasted only about two minutes before the scene returned to normal, allowing a near perfect view of a battle taking place around a large space station. By this time it was clear to see who has the technological edge in this region of space, as the Cylons appear to be causing heavy losses for the Colonials.

_Aurora, what ever in the name of the gods that was; I will admit it got us here and in time to help the Zeus defend Picon Anchorage. We are launching Vipers now; I suggest that you get your fighters out there as quickly as you can._

"Confirmed Valkyrie, standby." Taping a few keys on my console, "Chief, initiate rapid deployment of Red, Orange, Blue and Green Flights. It is time to give our pilots some much needed exercise." I do not wait for his response, and return my attention to the battle before me. "Valkyrie, be aware we are now launching our 302s. In addition please standby for rapid load-out deployment of sledgehammers and wombats."

_We understand Aurora, you hit them and we will shield you. I don't know how much punishment you can take, but hopefully the Cylons will concentrate their nukes on us. Do you want to have us relay orders to the Vipers so we can coordinate our fighter screens?_

"Valkyrie, Aurora will snip the enemy units while you and the fighters cover us. We should be able to mop them up quickly enough to send in the marines to help with the Anchorage."

As the 302s clear the launch tubes they join up with the Colonial Vipers, while the older Interceptors look odd and bulky to the Viper pilots; the new Slip Fighters look to be more along the line of what the Colonials prefer to fly. The first clue the Cylons had to the arrival of the Valkyrie and Aurora was when two of the basestars exploded without warning. In their deaths three more basestars join them in the nuclear fire caused by their brethren with another two joining shortly after as two HV Plasma Slugs drill their way into the cores of the basestars. The slugs themselves cause massive secondary damage from the fragmentation design of the shell, while the plasma energy inside of the shells continues into the ships colliding with their cores.

The battle between the two sides end with the remaining Cylon fighters disappearing into flashes of light with the sensors registering a series of subspace pulse waves. "XO order both Orange and Green Flights back home, and have Red and Blue Flights remain on CAP, but have them patrol only around Aurora and Valkyrie for now."

"Ensign Corman, re-establish communications with the Valkyrie and see if you can patch us in to the Colonial comm. chatter." Corman gives me a quick nod and the signal that we have contact with the Valkyrie before turning back to the second task set before her.

"Valkyrie, is everyone okay over there?"

_We're as okay as were going to be for the time being, I have ordered half our vipers back to the barn and the other half to join your remaining fighters on CAP. Those missiles of yours really did a number on those Cylon frakkers, especially those that separated into tens of missiles._

"You mean the sledgehammers; their nick-name is the hundred pounding strikes, called so because each missile carries one hundred ballistic warheads that launch into a tactical wave strike. It is nearly impossible to take down all of the warheads before you get hit."

_Nice nick-name and a dangerous weapon to be throwing around, I'm just glad you're on our side. I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of one of those, I don't think the armor would be able to hold out. We are trying to get a hold of the Zeus or Picon Anchorage, but so far no luck; what about you?_

"Sir, I have two connections one to a ship called the Zeus and the other to the nearby space station." I order Corman to conference all three connections together to allow the Valkyrie to communicate with the Zeus. "Standby Valkyrie, we are connecting to the Zeus and Picon Anchorage."

"_This is the Colonial Warstar Zeus, to unknown ship identify yourself immediately or you will be fired upon."_

_Zeus, this is Valkyrie; the Aurora is friendly, I repeat this is the Battlestar Valkyrie; the Warship Aurora is friendly. Do not fire, repeat do not fire; who did you think shot those basestars from extreme range?_

_This is Picon Anchorage to the Valkyrie; we confirm your IFF codes but are unable to confirm the Warship Aurora's IFF. Please confirm they are friendly's?_

_Confirmed Picon, the Aurora is friendly. They saved us from a Cylon basestar that jumped us out near the edge of the system; took it out with only one salvo of missiles. They also have survivors from Armistice Station on board, I will let them identify._

I motion for Mister Gaeta to reply, "This is Captain Gaeta, Colonial Fleet Service Number N5-33612-P13 assigned to Picon Fleet Headquarters."

_Confirmed, welcome back Captain Gaeta, is Colonel Blake with you?_

"He's dead; the Cylons killed him when they destroyed Armistice. If it weren't for the Aurora Lt. Meets and myself would be dead also, they detected the emergency signal from the shuttle and perform SRS operations."

_Roger that, standby for Picon Actual. This is Picon Actual, Joshua good to hear that you're still alive, and nice of you to bring guests that can hit the Cylons with such a hard stick._

"Yes Sir, if it weren't for Aurora; who knows what might have happened to me. Sir, can I request a status update of the fleet? The Aurora can really help us out with the defense of the Colonies."

_Captain Gaeta, it is as of this time that we are fighting a withdrawing action. President Ader surrendered during the opening Cylon assault on the Colonies that was shortly over an hour and a half ago. We can now confirm that the President, Vice President and the majority of the Cabinet have been killed. Currently the systems indicate that President Laura Roslin is the current leader of the Colonies. Our best guess is that she is with the Battlestar Galactica at Ragner Anchorage, Commander Adama took command of the fleet when it was confirmed that Admiral Negalia was lost with the Atlantia._

"_Thanks to the Aurora, we can now finish evacuating Picon Anchorage and make way for Ragner to join the Galactica. Under my authority as a Commander in the Colonial Fleet, I am here by drafting the Aurora into the Colonial Fleet; I will have an officer onboard to take command shortly."_

_Zeus Actual, I think you better reconsider that action. When they confronted the Cylons when they came across us, they identified themselves as being part of the Galactic Star Forces. I think it would be a bad idea to take a ship from another military, especially one that can rip the Zeus to pieces with ease. And then there is the form of FTL travel that they use, it took them two minutes to tow us here, and that was without using tow cables._

This arguing is going nowhere fast, if I don't do something soon, they might actually fire on each other over the Aurora. "Gentleman, perhaps we should continue this conversation in person. I suggest the Aurora, that way I can give you a tour as well as having a meeting about joining forces for the immediate future."

_I agree with Commander Phoenix about continuing this on the Aurora, I would also like to see the ship that saved us and Picon Anchorage. Zeus Actual, Picon Actual are we in agreement about meeting on the Aurora?_

_I am in agreement, I would also like to see the Aurora myself and perhaps request medical assistance for people here on the Anchorage as well._

"_I agree, thou I will still bring an officer with me to act as liaison if the Aurora does not become a Colonial Ship."_

"Confirmed, we will continue this discussion on board the Aurora within the hour. Aurora out."

Ensign Corman cuts the transmission with a look of relief on her face; this conversation must have been just as taxing on her as it was me. "XO you have the bridge; Amanda, Mister Gaeta, please come with me." As we leave the bridge I give Christina the look of 'If they try anything shoot first ask questions later'. She responds to my look with a simple nod, I then look to Amanda, "Amanda, I need you back on the deck. Tell the Chief that we have company coming and remind him of first contact protocols."

Amanda also gives me a nod as a response and then makes her way back to the deck. "Mister Gaeta, I would like you to attend this meeting also. It would be good for me to have a Colonial Officer to assist me in these proceedings. I hope that you do not mind"

Gaeta answered that it would be alright, and that we had better get ready for the meeting.


	7. Chapter 7 First Contact

First Contact – We're Where

T-Plus Three Hours, Forty Minutes from Geodesic Jump

The first to arrive was Commander Mitchell from the Battlestar Valkyrie; with him were three pilots and a marine escort. We had to wait on the Commanders of the Zeus and Picon Anchorage to arrive before we could begin, but that did not stop us from talking.

"So, I take it that you don't have that many enemies to deal with back where you are from. Otherwise this ship wouldn't look so clean and new would it?" Commander Mitchell was fishing for information about the Star Forces, but I don't see any harm in letting him know some things. "Actually within the past six years, the Star Forces have been involved in four major wars, some lasting only a few months and others lasting two years." He looked at me slack jawed at my statement, I continue "Also the Aurora has just undergone a major overhaul and refit. This flight deck was originally not even part of the ship, but due to the last war against the Wraith it was decided to add them to the design."

"You mean to tell me that your people have been involved in four wars within the past six years. Even in the entire history of the Colonies, we have never had that many wars so close to each other. In fact it has been forty years since the last war with the Cylons and that was the actual last war that the Colonial Fleet took part in. How are your people still alive?" I guess that they must be isolated from the rest of the universe, I wonder if they have had contact with life other than humans?

"Actually Commander for the sake of accuracy, it has been four major wars and a number of minor wars around one hundred or so during the past six years. That is not even counting the wars we fought against ourselves on any of our home worlds or any of the wars from before the time of the Star Forces." Mitchell shook his head; it must be hard for him to believe that there can be that much fighting. "That would explain why your weapons are so powerful, with that much fighting it must allow you to advance quickly on weapons technologies. So how many of these Aurora class ships do you have?"

"We have a total of five with the Aurora as the Flag Ship of the Star Forces. In rough numbers we have about thirty Titan, Daedalus and Prometheus class ships and another two hundred or so Phoenix, Charlie Polk, Annalisa and Valiskener class ships. All in all around two hundred and fifty ships for the Star Forces, but that is nothing in comparisons to some of our enemies." Before Mitchell could ask any more, one of his pilots approached us with one of the deck hands.

"Commander, you have got to hear this. These people have the ability to protect the pilot from the effects of G Forces, and this allows them to fly at faster speeds than our Vipers." I just smiled at that, the Inertial Dampeners are a level of technology that we can freely trade with others. I am certain that other Colonial pilots will want to have the dampeners installed on their Vipers so they can try and match the 302s.

"Commander, this technology is something we can share with you so there is no need to ask about what you need to do gain access. For us this is an old technology and easy to reproduce, in fact the larger versions can actually be installed on Colonial ships such as your Battlestar." Both Colonials stared at me; their minds must be racing with the possibilities of what their ships can do with that kind of technology incorporated into them. Luckily it was at this time the next Colonial Raptor touched down and was taxied onto the deck. This one how ever was not accompanied by Vipers but another Raptor, must be both Commanders of the Zeus and Picon Anchorage.

The first raptor opens to reveal a young woman and an older gentleman guarded by about four marines. Colonel Mitchell informs me that this is the Commander of Picon Anchorage and that the young woman is his aid. "Welcome aboard the Aurora, Commander," "Caine" "Commander Caine. I am glad that we can meet properly, I am Commander Phoenix." As Commander Caine steps off the raptor, he gives me an appraising look before smiling; I guess that he must see me as a fellow military officer. "This is my aid Lt. Kimberly Gaeta; hope you don't mind that I brought some of my marines with me?" "Actually Commander, I would be insulted if you didn't. The edema 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer' comes to mind." Caine's smile widens at my statement, he must be using this as a test of my character in order to see if he can trust me.

"Alright men, secure the raptor and remain here on their deck. I am certain they won't try anything; I am correct Commander?" Yep, definitely testing me; "Of course, if we were going to try anything do you think you would be standing here? I am certain that you knew that before boarding the raptor for the flight over." Putting his hand on my shoulder, "You are a military man, good thing too it just made your case to keep this ship under your command in my eyes. So where can I find Captain Gaeta, Kimberly here would like to make certain her husband is safe and sound."

"Your find him in Medical, checking on Lt. Meets. The poor Lt. was the worse for wear out of the two of them, last I knew it will be another twelve hours before Hiendol will let him wake up. She wants to make certain that when he does, he can leave the ship without issue; she is fickly when it comes to her patients." Caine tries to stifle a laugh at that, "Doctors are the same no matter where you are, doubly so for military doctors. I'm glad that you have such a doctor on board; it'll make life easier when wounded from my command come flooding in." I signal to one of the spare deck hands to take Lt. Gaeta to her husband, and I am rewarded with Amanda responding to my call.

"Sir?" Amanda quickly stands at attention in front us. "Amanda, at ease. I want you to take Lt. Gaeta to Medical, her husband Captain Gaeta is there." "Yes Sir, Lt. Gaeta please follow me; oh Sir the Chief wants to see you about rigging a Jumper for testing of the Cloaking Shields for the 302s." I can see now that Amanda will be just like her sister when it comes to her duties, and I guess the Chief is thinking ahead like always. I waved Amanda to take the Lt. to her husband, while Commanders Caine and Mitchell turn to face the third raptor.

This raptor was the most crowded of the three that have landed on the Aurora; inside there is the pilot and four officers with five marines. I wonder if the Commander of the Zeus brought over half of his command staff, it would explain why there are ten people in the tiny ship.

"Welcome Aboard, I am Commander Phoenix." The first one off the raptor looked at me for a moment before promptly turning back to face the ship and signaling his fellow officers. The marines disembark next followed by the pilot and officers, the last one off had a scowl on his face. By the look of his uniform, I believe that he is the Commander of the Zeus but the other officers I am unable to determine their ranks. "Commander Caine, Commander Mitchell it is good to see you both alive. This is my XO Colonel Winters, my Tactical Office Major Manson and my CAG Caption Cooke."

Caine sighed, "Commander Walters, it is good of you to come to Picon to defend the Anchorage. We also have to thank Commander Phoenix and his crew for their timely arrival and assistance in the battle." Walters turned to face me; the look in his eyes clearly said that he believes that one of his officers should be in command of Aurora. With that aside for now, I will have to take them on a tour of Aurora so they can better understand some of the technologies that they could gain access to.

"If everyone is ready, we can begin the tour." All of the Colonial officers signal that they are ready to begin, thus I lead them off the flight deck. Our first stop is Medical, once again Hiendol is hidden view, only this time it is intentional; don't want to scare the Colonials with a living non-human being around at the moment. There we pick Captain and Lt. Gaeta, from there we make our way towards Engineering; there we are met by Captain Renolds, who gives a brief explanation about our drive technologies.

After Engineering we move to CIC and then the Bridge, Commander Walters seems to have taken a liking to CIC but the Bridge itself was what caught their attention. Captain Gaeta, "Sirs, before we continue there is something you should know. Their Bridge has the ability to view the outside of the ship." Before he could continue Commander Walters steps onto the Bridge and stops short in the entryway. Gaeta then managed to finish his warning with the knowledge that what appears to be glass is actually translucent metal. The Colonials look on in awe while Walters appears to be in deep thought, more than likely how to gain access to such metal.

We finish the tour by entering Conference Room One; it is here that I signal for the Colonial Officers to take a seat so we can begin talking. "I hope all of you enjoyed the tour, you see normally tours are only done for First Contact events. This actually falls under that status making this meeting a First Contact between our two civilizations." Everyone with the exception of Captain Gaeta and me look up at that comment; they are definitely isolated. It is Commander Caine who is the first to respond, "Well that explains a few things such as the fact that you use something called hyperspace for FTL and not the Jump Drive. And it would also explain why you have technology that we have never heard of before, like that transparent metal you use on this ship."

"Commander Caine, he could easily be lying about this being 'First Contact'. He's human like us, and the only other humans in the universe are the Thirteenth Tribe." Captain Cooke seems to be certain of his statement, while Captain Gaeta, "Sirs, if the Thirteenth Tribe really exists than it is possible that they no longer have any records about coming from Kobol or any of the other Tribes of Man." This is what got my attention, the mention of an ancient and lost Lantean Outpost World that was said to be in a far off galaxy, roughly twelve GUs from Earth.

"Captain Gaeta, you know just as well as I do that the Thirteenth Tribe would never have let that happen. The Sacred Scrolls have been safe guarded since time in memorial; they would remember the ancient home world of all human life." Colonel Winters was more than convinced of that, while some seemed uncertain if that is true or not. I better say something to keep this from snowballing, "Be that as it may, we are not here to discuss the past but the future. What are your plans for evacuation of your worlds?" The looks on their faces told me all I needed to know, they had never planned for this possibility. Looking to Commander Caine, "Commander, what is the status of Picon Anchorage. Is it stable enough to house refugees from the planets of this star system?"

"It is stable, in fact thanks to your arrival there is relatively no damage to the anchorage itself. Why, it is not like we can take the anchorage with us; that would require more power than we can generate even if we had the ability to jump." I looked to Caine and then to the report that Dr. Myers had given me, according to the report the reason for the jump error was due to the fact that we had provided more power than the GFD required for the target jump. "Commander, I believe that the Aurora can provide the required power to Jump Picon Anchorage. All that we need to do is to install the required power cores and some Colonial Jump Drives, and then we should be able to carry the anchorage with us for the evac."

The Colonials looked to each other for moment, before returning their attention to me. "Commander Phoenix, just how are you going to provide the power for that plan? I highly doubt that you have the technology to generate that much energy, unless you are willing to cannibalize the Aurora." "Major Manson, the Aurora carries multiple primary, secondary and auxiliary power cores. Any one of our auxiliary cores will have little trouble providing energy to a city housing roughly two million people, so three cores should provide more than enough power to run the anchorage and the jump drives with ease."

Once again the Colonials look at each other, turning to determine if my statements are true or just a lie to boast the image of the Star Forces. This time it was Commander Mitchell, "Commander, how much power can one of your auxiliary power cores generate?" "Roughly thirty to the tenth power in terawatts, and this is only the average output of the system. The maximum output is two hundred to the fifteenth power, but at that output the cores will only last six months to a year at the outside." This time the Colonial Officers look at me slack jawed, while Gaeta whispered into my ear that to jump a warstar would require five terawatts of energy for a jump to their red line. Doing some basic calculations in my head, it appears that to jump the anchorage the same distance would only use fifty terawatts of power.

"Commander Phoenix, Lt. Gaeta tells me that the output of one power core at roughly seven percent over you average would be enough to jump the anchorage to the red line for the Jump Drive. How many are you willing to provide?" I pull up the current stores list; according to the mainframe we have enough spare parts and naquadria to provide at least seven complete units. "I would say three for the anchorage, and one to four Colonial ships. After which we would have to manufacture new spare parts for the ones onboard Aurora."

"Wait, are you saying that you can provide us with seven of these power cores out of just your spare parts for repairs?" Colonel Winters had a look of freight on his face at the thought that we carried enough spare parts alone for such a task. "Yes, but I should warn you that the naquadria in each core would be dangerous without the containment systems. Each core is approximately the size of the chairs that we are sitting in; this should help you understand just how much energy that naquadria can produce."

Commander Mitchell looked at the other Colonials, "If this is the case we can provide the tylium fuel from those ships and the anchorage to other ships in fleet. It would prolong our fuel reserves by a matter months before we have to search for more tylium for refining." "And Commander Mitchell this will allow the anchorage to act as a mobile supply base for the fleet, as well as a lifeboat for civilian refugees." Caine's face showed that he preferred to trade in their power generators for the power cores that we are going to provide. So far the only one who did not seem to take any liking to this plan is Commander Walters. "I believe that we should concentrate on equipping as many of the ships in the Zeus's task force with these power cores. We will need the power in order to aid the Galactica."

"Commanders, before we argue over who gets the power cores, you should know that we have enough naquadria for about thirty cores outside of the Aurora. We just need to manufacture the cores themselves; I would venture a guess of perhaps three months to equip the anchorage and all of the Zeus's task force with the cores." This quickly ended the argument before it could begin, but it still left a few points to deal with and that is namely the SRS operations that have to be preformed.

"Now, if no one minds let us move on to the next item; the Search and Rescue of Colonial civilians and citizens still in the star system." At was at this time that Commander Walters, "We will deal with the SRS operations; I want the Valkyrie and Aurora to remain here at Picon Anchorage. We will use the anchorage as a lifeboat for the civilians who are either trapped on the colonies or on ships unable to jump. Commander Caine, how long will it take to convert sections of the anchorage to handle refugees?"

With a whisper from Lt. Gaeta, Commander Caine, "I would say five hours to complete refitting the old bunking section of the anchorage to accommodate refugees." "Commander Caine, I will send over some of my techs to assist in the refit: should help the process along and have it ready in about three hours? I also want to begin installation of the cores and jump drives as soon as possible; even with the Valkyrie and the Aurora acting as guards the anchorage might still need to be able to escape from an attack."

"Agreed, hopefully we will be able to rescue enough people to keep us alive for a few generations." With that we had come to an agreement about our current tasks, all that was left is the assigning of liaison officers. "Before we end this meeting, I want to bring up the liaison officer assignments. From my ship I can assign our Liaison Officer Captain Winchester; he is our official Star Forces Liaison Officer for times such as this, and who do you want as liaison to the Aurora?" With a look towards each other, they seemed to silently agree, "We will assign two officers if you don't mind," Commander Caine looked to both Captain and Lt. Gaeta for a moment, "both Captain and Lt. Gaeta will be assigned to the Aurora." "That is acceptable, I will have my XO assign them to the Liaison Guest Quarters; all Star Forces ships carry an Official Liaison Officer and Official Liaison Guest Quarters for any and all joint operations between the Star Forces and any military power. I will have Captain Winchester meet you on the flight deck for the trip to Picon Anchorage."

With that we ended the meeting, but now I have a new meeting to deal with and with Star Forces Regulations in regards to staff meetings I must invite any liaison officer assigned to the ship. "Captain and Lt. Gaeta please remain. XO, we are having a staff meeting now and bring Dr. Myers we will need her as well; oh yes also have Hermiod and Hiendol join us also, we have two liaison officers on board from the Colonials." I turn to the two Colonials who have been assigned to the ship, "Okay, just as a warning to you; you are about to see something that you might not be ready for, but this will also help you gauge weather or not your people are ready for what you are about to learn."

They both look at each other and then me before nodding their heads to my statement. Just as they were about to speak, the Aurora's senior staff enter the room and with them is Dr. Myers; but it is Hermiod and Hiendol that the Gaetas stare at, yep isolated. "Okay, during the meeting I gained a vital clue as to our current location." "Commander, should we be discussing this with them in the room, their" Lt. Anderson stops the moment I raise my hand. "Lt. Anderson, they will learn this sooner or later; they might as well learn it now and perhaps they will help us prepare their people for this information."

Lt. Anderson nodded his head in response, and I continued "We are more than likely within the galaxy that Kobol is located; I am certain you all know what this means." "So, we can find Kobol and learned what happened all those years ago?" Lt. Copland said with glee that we might be able to solve the mystery behind the disappearance of over a thousand Lanteans. "Wait, are you members of the Thirteenth Tribe; are you from Earth?" Lt. Gaeta seemed to be excited over the prospect that we could be from Earth.

"Lt. Gaeta, Captain I want you to know that according to our history; Kobol was a long range outpost world that we founded over three million years ago. Only a part of this crew is from Earth, and according to all the evidence thus far Earth is the Ancestral Home World of all Human life." As I said it, I could see it in their eyes that they don't believe what I am saying. "How could you say that, your from Earth; the Thirteenth Colony, you know that Kobol is the original home world." As Lt. Gaeta says that, I could see something in her husband's eyes that told me that he might believe us. It was than that Charlie laid the biggest piece of new yet, "That means we are over fifty million light years from home, if we could get outside of this galaxy it would still take us at least three or four months to make the trip back home."

That is when Captain Gaeta spoke, "Are you saying that Earth is in another galaxy, and how is that possible the Thirteen Tribes of Man left Kobol only within the past four thousand years." Wait four thousand years, could it be "Computer, calculate the amount of time required for a subspace signal to travel a distance of fifty million light years?" "Six thousand years Commander" the computer had responded with ease and that answer explained why the people of Kobol had left their homes four thousand years ago; it was the fall of Atlantis. "Okay, why ask that; makes little sense to ask about how long it would take to send a signal home on a carrier band that no one uses any more." "It is simple Captain Johnson, the carrier band is no longer used but it was used once ten thousand years ago." Christina quickly put two and two together, "The fall of Atlantis. The people on Kobol must have received the signal to return to Earth around four thousand years ago."

As the senior staff looked at each other for a moment; we all had to consider the ramifications to the Colonials and their history when they learn that it was Earth that colonized Kobol and not the other way around. "Wait, the fall of Atlantis; Atlantis is nothing but a myth, a story of about a city that was lost four thousand years ago. You must have lost a get deal of your history to believe anything else." "Lt. Gaeta, I hate to do this but I am not human, I am a member of a species that evolved on Earth several trillion years ago. The majority of the species in our region of space call us either the Forerunners or the Ancients; but we call ourselves Lanteans."

The look on her face showed confusion and denial at the fact that I am clamming to not be human. "To further add, Hermiod and Hiendol are members of the Asgard, a species born to the Ida Galaxy. And the human members of the crew carry the name Tua'ri for their species; it is a Lantean word meaning 'child', this is to say that they are children of my species." As Lt. Gaeta processed this information, Captain Gaeta "So, the Tua'ri how long have they lived on Earth?" "Roughly thirty to forty thousand years for the current Tua'ri civilization." Now it was Captain Gaeta's turn to be confused, he was clearly hoping I would say something along the lines of a few thousand years.

"That is not to say there is no Thirteenth Tribe; far from it in fact, they are more than likely either settled on a planet in this galaxy or traveling a route to Earth." The both of them looked at me after that comment, hope burned brightly in their eyes; the thought that their culture was being carried by a group of their people else where in the universe, seemingly has brought comfort to them. "For now, I believe it will be best that you two are the only people of you civilization to know any of this for the time being. We don't want to destroy your beliefs, especially in light of recent events; for now let us bring this meeting to a close, we all have work to do."

We each returned to our stations, while I retired to my quarters; there are some things that still need to be worked out before we set forward with our current operations. As I reach my quarters before them stands Amanda, "Amanda, are you okay?" She looked up at me, she had obviously been crying; she just shakes her head and sniffles. I open to door to my quarters and invite her in; as soon as I close the door Amanda turns around and warps me in an embrace while crying into my shoulder. "Amanda, what's wrong?" "Do you know what day it is tomorrow?" I look at her for a moment, tomorrow would be the, my goodness tomorrow would be the fifth anniversary of Melissa joining the Aurora. Five years to the day since Melissa had become a member of the Aurora's crew, and here is Amanda fresh from basic and only on the Aurora for a week.

"Amanda, do you want to take the day off tomorrow?" even as I said it, I start making plans for tomorrow. Amanda just shakes her head, guess she doesn't want to talk too much right now. "Amanda, can you give me a moment?" she released me and moves over to my couch, while I move over to my desk. I quickly type up a message to all staff and crew from those who knew Melissa, simply reminding them of tomorrow. After which I grab the picture of Melissa and me from the deck party and then join Amanda on the couch.

"Amanda, do you know what this is?" Handing her the picture, she looks it over for a moment before looking back at me. "It is a picture of me and Melissa from the deck party welcoming her aboard, it was about a month and half after she joined us." Amanda looked at the picture again, while I "You know, the moment you came on board you looked just like her. You scared the deck crew shitless, for a moment they believed that Melissa was back and that they had regained a lost member of the family." Shaking her head Amanda just looked at me, "Before you say anything Amanda, I want you to know that for just a moment, a single moment I firmly believed that Melissa was back. That the woman I had fallen in love with was back in my life and that I would have a second chance." Amanda looked at me, she looked into my eyes and we could both see the pain there in our hearts. "Amanda, did you know? No, maybe not, I didn't even get a chance to ask Melissa; I was filling out a request form. To be exact it was the 'Permission to Pursue a Romantic Relationship'; I had just finished filling out my half and I was going to ask Melissa, I was going to ask her if she was interested in an official relationship with me. We had grown so close, it had become so difficult to think of a future without Melissa; I had actually dreamed of the two of us having a family together. In fact the stunt Cally pulled on Melissa and I with the deck wax was the closest I had gotten to actually kissing her in front of the crew. Every time we had gotten close to kissing we pulled away, it actually hurt not to be able to feel her lips against mine, but we were crewmates; more than that I was her Commander and her a member of my crew."

I got up from the couch and walked over to the private dinning table, "Melissa and I shared so many dinners together, either here or in mess hall and each and every dinner we shared I wanted to do so much more. The Chief actually covered for us more then a few times, distracting the XO or having the deck crew run diversion tactics to allow us time together. In fact she even had the codes to enter these very quarters, she was allowed to come and go as she chose; no one else on the crew was allowed that privilege." I turned to look at Amanda, she clearly had known something about me and Melissa; Amanda was standing just in front of me. "I know Big Brother, Melissa wrote it in her diary. She wrote how she had found the man of her dreams, the very man that she had hoped to meet for so long. In one entry she called you a pervert, can you tell me why?" I shake my head, "Well, Melissa had just gotten off of shift and the crew showers we filled; so she comes here and decides to use my shower. I was still on the Bridge, just handing of control to the XO and heading for my quarters; I had planned on a nice warm shower to relax myself. I step into the bathroom only to realize that the shower was running and the most beautiful sight was in front of me, I was certain that there was an angel in my shower. Anyway I quickly turn around and announced my presence, didn't even see the shampoo bottle before it hit me in the back of my head; Melissa was yelling at me to get out and so I left the bathroom. A little over ten minutes later Melissa comes out of the bathroom, her hair completely soaked and she was wearing some of my civvie clothes; my god she was so beautiful. She was going to leave, I grabbed her hand and asked her to stay, no actually I begged, pleaded with her to stay. We ended up spending the night together, I remember how her hair smelled; the taste of it as we fell asleep, and how much I hoped that I would have another chance to hold her in my arms like that. Don't get me wrong, we were both fully clothed the whole time but it felt so great to have her in my arms; felt so right."

By this time Amanda and I had moved over to the chairs back in the living area of my quarters. "I fact these chairs, Melissa picked them out; it was during one of the re-supplies, in fact it was when you and I had officially met. Melissa didn't want to let your parents know that her possible boyfriend was actually her commanding officer, couldn't really blame her; without permission it could have ended our careers. We never really talked about our future plans; we lived more in the moment taking in all that we could. But it was that faithful battle for Regina VI that caused it all to end; we managed to get a wombat missile into the Supergate structure, but the Aurora was damaged and our primary sublight was offline because the Mass/Inertia shields were down. It was Melissa that got them online again, she walked into the room where the unit itself was stored; a conduit providing power was damaged and was leaking Gamma Radiation. At the levels it was giving off, just standing in the room you would be okay; but physical contact for more than a few seconds would be lethal." I looked down for a moment to collect myself and then back to Amanda, her eyes were tearing up again but she needed to hear this.

"The shields that could have protected her, they were half way across the ship being used by the Damage Control Teams repairing other systems to get us going. It would have taken the DC Teams over five minutes to reach the damaged shield generator, we only had two minutes to get clear of the remains of Regina VI before it would become a black hole and destroy the Aurora. So Melissa opens the generator and sticks her hands inside, grabbing the damaged conduit and forcing it together to provide power to the shield. I for all my thoughts believe that a member of the DC Teams had made it to the generator and had managed to patch it, so I ordered Charlie to punch it and get us clear. We had succeed in keeping the Ori from having a beachhead in Milky Way and the Bridge Crew were celebrating, that was when the Chief called in and said that Melissa was hurt and I should get to the M/I Shield Generator. It entered my head just then, it wasn't a member of the DC Teams it was Melissa, I left the Bridge not even bothering with protocol and ran for the generator. By the time I made it, the DC Teams had grabbed me and kept me from her; the Chief slapped a shielding unit to my shoulder before the DC Teams would let me go. I thought 'my god Melissa, she must have been exposed to radiation', I enter the room to find Hiendol shaking her head; she looked at me with a look saying that I should say goodbye while I could. I ran over to Melissa and kneeled beside her, she looked so weak; she turned her head to face me and with what strength she had left asked, 'John is everyone okay, are we clear of danger; is the Aurora safe?'"

I stopped again, this hurts so much and then I feel Amanda's hand on mine; I look up into her baby blue eyes, just like her sister's and she nodded for me to continue. "I found it so hard to answer her, but I was able to 'Yes Melissa, we're safe; you did it, thanks to you we got clear in time. Now just save your strength, I need you to stay with us, with me please Melissa.' She looked into my eyes, I could tell that she was ready to give up and let her body fail her; 'Melissa, don't you die on me; how can I ask you to be my girlfriend if you die. Please Melissa, I love you.' It was her last words, the last thing I would ever hear from her beautiful voice ever again, 'Good bye John, I love you.' She died in my arms, the one person who found that one place in my heart that no one could every have; she had just died, taking a piece of me with her. I screamed, I screamed so loud and so hard that the entire ship heard me. When the Medical Staff tried to approach me, I lashed out ordering them to stay back; I pulled Melissa as close to me as I could, I refused to let her go. I asked myself 'how can the universe be so cruel, to take Melissa away so soon after I had found her; after we had fallen in love'. It was the Chief, he order everyone out of the room; he walked up to me, 'Sir, I'm so sorry maybe if I had just forced her to stay near the core, than maybe she would still be with us.' It was a little over an hour later when I emerged from the M/I Shield Generator room, I was carrying Melissa in my arms; the crew cleared the corridors all the way to Medical."

Amanda squeezed my hand, trying to comfort me as I told her about her sister and how she had saved the ship. I had never told her or her parents how Melissa had saved us all, only that she had given her life for her crewmates and the ship. "After that, I spent the next week locked in my quarters; I refused any attempt to talk with anyone. I even went as far as ordering all command codes to be transferred to the XO, so I could remain in my quarters crying. That was when I found it, the form for 'Permission to Pursue a Romantic Relationship'; only it wasn't the one I was filling out, this one was filled out by Melissa and all that was need was my signature. Melissa had even filled out my part of the form, she was so certain that I would agree; god she knew me better than I knew myself, she saw how much I loved her and she was ready for the next step." I squeezed Amanda's hand; this is so hard on the both of us. "I signed the form, but I never filed it; I didn't want to lose what I still had of her, I have kept it with me this entire time."

"Big Brother, can I stay here tonight; I don't want to keep my bunkmates up because I'm crying?" I pull Amanda back into our earlier embrace, her chin on my shoulder; I whisper into her ear "Of course you can stay here tonight Amanda." Releasing our embrace I guide Amanda into the sleeping area and sit her on my bed, "Amanda, I will be on the couch if you need me. Good night baby sister." "Good night Big Brother." With that I close the partition to the sleeping area and move over to the couch, but before I do so I open a near by cabinet and pull out the pillow and blanket that Melissa had bought for us to share on those late nights, that we would spend together talking. Just as I begin to fall asleep, the smell of Melissa's scent fills my nostrils and my last thoughts are 'Good Night Melissa, I love you.'


	8. Chapter 8 Rescue Mission

Rescue Mission – Day of Remembrance

T-Plus Fourteen Hours from Geodesic Jump

I had been awakened seven hours ago; Lt. Anderson had informed me that the first civilian type ships had appeared off of Picon Anchorage being escorted by one of the now identified Strikestars. The Avenger had jumped in just moments after the first batch of civilians and reported that Tauron was now evaced of all survivors; current reports put the Tauron survivor count at roughly thirty thousand. The reports also indicate that the Cylons seem to be focusing their attention on Caprica primarily; this should give us a good chance at clearing out survivors from the outer colonies. We had also been able to move the anchorage further out from Picon, allowing better defense of our current position.

The elder members of the crew are currently wearing the black armbands with Melissa's initials on them, the M.W. is a rose red color 'Melissa's favorite' in remembrance of her. The Chief was already hard at work using the Matter Fabricators, generating new replacement parts for the power cores that had been installed on the anchorage as well as creating armbands for each of the colony worlds that had been nuked within the past day. Captain Gaeta seemed to be somewhat appreciative of the Leones armband that he now adorned on his left arm; I believe his appreciativeness is due to our way of honoring those who lost their lives even if we could not retrieve their remains. Those of the crew, who did not wear an armband remembering Melissa, are now wearing an armband with the Colonial Symbol; as remembrance of the Colonies as a whole. In fact several of the civilian aids and Colonial officers who have been filtering through Medical before going to or back to the anchorage, have also asked to wear an armband after hearing what the bands represent.

Captain Gaeta had to explain to Commander Caine, why his officers were returning slightly out of uniform; after the explanation Caine had a sad smile on his face and asked that an armband for Virgon be sent over for him. Since then at least fifteen more ships have jumped in to the rendezvous coordinates, nine of them from Arialon and the other six from Sagittaron. Even with all of the cultural differences between their colonies, the people have found a common thread to bind them together and that is our remembrance of their homes, friends and family. After hearing how a group of people from outside of the known Colonies are showing their remembrance of people that they have never met, each and everyone of the survivors have turned to help each other in their times of need.

I look over the reports to see that for the past ten hours the Zeus's Task Force has managed to rescue nearly one hundred thousand survivors from various stranded ships and colonies. Most of the survivors are ferried back to the anchorage by either Strikestars, Stealthstars or packed into Raptors for the jump. At least three times already a Battlestar has jumped back carrying survivors as well; in fact it is the Battlestar Daedalus, 'odd running into a Daedalus out here' that managed to bring back confirmation that the Roslin and her fleet had joined the Galactica at Ragner Anchorage; along with seven thousand survivors that had been left behind by President Roslin in order to escape from a Cylon assault force. The survivors of the gathered fleet of non-FTL ships were grateful when the Daedalus showed up right between them and the Cylons. In the process of saving the civilians the Daedalus took heavy damage to her Starboard flight-pod, she will have to spend time in dock for repairs; luckily part of the anchorage is a dry-dock facility.

Also during this entire operation, Commanders Mitchell and Caine have sent several Raptors to the various salvage yards through out the system. Thus far the Raptor Teams have returned with three decommissioned Columbia class Battlestars, five Fleet Tenders and seven Support ships of varying design. The decommissioned Battlestars are all still intact thank goodness, all they are lacking is crew; even the ammunition is still onboard and entire flight wings of Colonial Mark II Vipers to Mark VI Vipers have been stored on board. For some reason that is beyond me, the Colonials decide to store older but still usable ships and materials in salvage yards; but at least this will give us a better base for defense of the fleet.

Currently three of the Engineering Teams from the Aurora are working on repairs and upgrades to the Daedalus, the first of the Colonial ships to be equipped with Star Forces technology. So far the only modifications being made are to Power Generation, the addition of a secured networked system and the Inertial Dampeners. We have yet to get any information about the Colonial Sensor technology, but it is believed that we might have to modify those systems also. We have finished the sweep of Picon and can now confirm that all survivors have been moved to the growing fleet surrounding the anchorage.

To aid in the defense of the fleet, we have deployed multiple sledgehammers and wombats, in addition to those we have also deployed the Aurora's DSDs 'Defense Satellite Drones'. The perimeter has been heavily mined with Star Forces weapons in stealth mode, hopefully any Cylon assault forces that jump within range will be hit with the perimeter defenses. To add to the defenses, we are generating a null sensor field in the hopes that we have created a blind spot on the Cylon's sensors in order to hide the survivors.

"Sir, the Zeus has just jumped in; she is escorting another twenty ships. I am confirming mostly civilian, but some are armed with rail-guns; not much else, sensors show another sixty five thousand survivors amongst this group bringing the current count to one hundred and eighty seven thousand two hundred and seventeen survivors from the civilian populace." I look to Lt. Anderson and nod my head in response, nearly two hundred thousand people out of nearly sixty billion; not including those with the Galactica and others who have already escaped from the star system.

"Ensign Louis, open a connection to the Zeus."

"Zeus do you read, this is Aurora?"

_This is Zeus, we read you Aurora. Can you give us a count?_

"Zeus, we have just over one hundred eighty seven thousand including your group. How does it look out there?"

_Zeus Actual here, not good; Leones, Canceron and Libron are petty much gone. Survivors that we could find are amongst our group, but not much else and the ones we were able to rescue are going to need some serious medical attention. I am afraid that we are going to lose some of them to radiation poisoning, luckily a number of the survivors managed to get anti-radiation meds from Colonial Fleet survivors on those worlds._

"I see; please be advised we have received confirmation that President Roslin has joined the Galactica at Ragner Anchorage with nearly fifty thousand survivors. The Battlestar Daedalus took heavy damage to her Starboard flight-pod defending the remaining seven thousand who were trapped on sublight ships. Daedalus is currently docked with the Anchorage as we speak, we're hopeful we can get her back out there within the next two hours."

_Roger that; any word on the status of Caprica? I have a number of civvies here who have family on Caprica and they want to know if we have any survivors._

"Zeus, we have roughly forty thousand civilian survivors from Caprica. The Anchorage has the names gathered thus far, but it is slow going; have your civilians contact Anchorage Populace Registration, should be able to get something from them."

_At least it is something; I see that you have managed to find another fifteen Colonial Fleet ships. Can I ask from where and who is in command?_

"Sorry, but they are all from salvage yards; but they are intact and fully loaded with supplies, just need crew. I am hoping that we can get some of the Task Force's Command Officers to take command of the recent additions and ask for volunteers from the civilians."

_Good thinking Aurora; perhaps we can get a second task force up and running for the Aurora to command. We would be better off with two fleet task forces; it will give us better odds in the long run. Can you give me the status of the Anchorage; is she ready to jump out of the system?_

"The Anchorage as of this time is ready for jump, just need to gather as many survivors as we can before we join up with Galactica."

_At least we have that, I hate to say this but it might be time to cut our losses here; I don't think we will get many more survivors from the wreckage we have come across out there. The only thing we can hope for now is if we find some Agro-ships still intact, so we can at least feed the survivors._

"No need for that, we sent the Renegade and the Worker to retrieve the Agro-ship that was left behind by Roslin. Her captain reported that a skeleton crew was on board, but she has enough food stock onboard to feed around five hundred thousand people for six months. They were making a run to the penal colony to re-supply them with food and water; it was apart of the scheduled five year supply run."

_Roslin's loss is our gain; thank the gods the Daedalus managed to save them, this will definitely make our lives easier. I have to ask, the Renegade and the Worker; who are they I can't say that I am familiar with those ships._

"The Worker is a Fleet Tender that was working near one of the salvage yards and her partner the Renegade is a Defenstar. They responded to an emergency signal from the Olympus and Clouds Eleven and Twelve, the three civilian ships lost connection with the colony they were heading to; when the communications between Colonies went out, they called for help. One of Valkyrie's Raptors came across them and brought them back here, we have a lot of people who are still happy to see them."

_I can imagine, both Clouds Eleven and Twelve are major tourist attractions and the Olympus is a city unto itself. With those three in the fleet, we will have a happier populace to deal with; and more important is that those three can and do carry animals from the Colonies._

"Okay, if you can have the Zeus position herself for defense of the Anchorage; we can begin discussion on the fleet's course to join up with Galactica and her fleet."

_Good idea, I will bring the Zeus into position; how much longer do you think it might be Commander?_

"Based off the decline of inbound ships to the rendezvous, I would venture a guess at three hours before all ships are back with the fleet. I have already sent an Anchorage Raptor to Ragner to contact Galactica and to get us a status report from her fleet."

_This isn't your first barbeque is it?_

"No, and I hate to say this but this is an easier one than at the Regina System back home. Had to get over two million civilians out of the system before we lost Regina VI."

_I will have to get the story later, but so far it seems that my assumptions about you were wrong from the start. I can see now why both Commanders Mitchell and Caine trust you, you are a career military officer; you know the job and how to get it done. Thank You for helping us._

"No need for thanks and the job isn't done yet; still need to get the fleet out of the star system and to the Galactica before I can consider half of the job complete." Before I could continue Lt. Anderson, "Sir, Raptor A0355 has returned." "Ensign Louis, connect us with Raptor A0355"

"Zeus, the Raptor is back; we are connecting now."

"_This is Raptor 355, Ragner is crawling; repeat Raptor 355, Ragner is crawling with Cylons. Galactica's gone; we watched them jump out with a fleet of civvie ships, we weren't able to reach them; couldn't take the chance the Cylons would hear us. By the gods Galactica really held out, they took on two basestars and keep them back; we have the battle recorded with the gun camera."_

"Confirmed Raptor 355, come back to barn; Aurora out."

"_Confirmed Aurora, Raptor 355 coming home."_

_Commander I think we better get ready for some company, with the Cylons don't know when they will come back here to check on Picon._

"Agreed, I will get on Fleet Wide and have the ships prepare themselves for rapid deployment and evac." I turn to Ensign Louis, "Ensign put me on Fleet-wide, Attention all ships; our scout has returned from Ragner Anchorage. The Galactica has jumped out of the system and the Cylons now control Ragner, all ships prepare yourselves for rapid evac; I repeat all ships prepare yourselves for rapid evac, that is all."

During the next few hours we were lucky, no Cylons had detected us yet but I know full well things can change in a heart beat. So now we are talking over the comm. link about our course to join up with others and hopefully find the Galactica.

"Commanders, I believe that our first step is to jump to a nearby system; preferably one that is mostly debris would make it difficult for the Cylons to attack us and give us some resources to work with."

"_I agree with your suggestion, but how long will we stay in the system for; can't stay to long with the Cylons behind us."_

_Commander Caine, the amount of time will be based on how strongly we can defend the system. I am certain with the Aurora and my Zeus; we will be able to hold the system for at least two weeks._

"Commanders, I have been looking over the manuals from the Raptors on board Aurora. The manuals clearly say that any and all intersystem jumps, the Colonial ship must jump into the system. Now then, I am suggesting that we jump to a nearby system; not and I repeat not into a nearby system, we actually park the fleet outside of the Oort cloud. If I am right Galactica will be doing the same thing, and they will be following a course that will take them away from Cylon space."

"_Excellent idea Commander and knowing that old dog Adama he will do just that; he and I both served during the First Cylon War."_

_Well, based off that idea our target would put us into the Promar Sector; but the problem is that is beyond the Red Line, It would make the best choice thou for a fleeing fleet to go, and the Galactica has the advantage of having been to that sector at least once just after the last war. After we jump, I suggest that we re-assign the Colonial Fleet ships into two new task forces; one for Aurora and the other for Zeus._

"_Interesting idea Commander Walters, but why have the Aurora lead one of the new task forces and not one of the other ships?"_

_Simple, the Aurora has already proven to be far more experienced in this field and with the Jump Drive now installed on board, she has the ability to jump with us._

"Be that as it may, we should focus on getting the fleet to Promar and we should do it quickly; we don't want to be caught by a Cylon assault force."

_Agreed, should take the Anchorage what twenty minutes to plot the jump?_

"_Actually, we already plotted the jump; only it is multiple plotted jumps to different systems. I wanted us to be ready to go at a moments notice, and now that we have decide on Promar; all that is left is to distribute the jump coordinates."_

_Good to hear, Aurora how long will it take you to have all stations ready for jump?_

"The Aurora has been ready since our initial jump that put us nearly a light hour out from Armistice. While a ship is out of dock, even when planet side; all stations are kept at active status for combat and transit, never know when you need to move."

"_Good practice to have; if you can please Commander Phoenix; give the order for all ships to jump."_

"With pleasure," A quick look to Ensign Corman who had just relieved Ensign Louis, "Attention all ships, at this time you will be receiving jump coordinates from the Anchorage. Input them correctly into your navigational and jump computers, we will be jumping in sequence out of the star system. The Zeus and our Strikestars will jump first, followed by the Anchorage and the civilian ships; after which all remaining ships will begin their jumps to rendezvous with the fleet. The Aurora will be the last to jump; begin jump prep, we will begin jumping within five minutes; that is all."

As we prepare for our second jump, I couldn't help but wonder 'did we miss-jump to here on accident?' I look on for just a moment and then open a comm. link to the deck, "Chief, uh?" "Sir, she is already on her way; you know she is just like her sister." "Thanks Chief." Closing the comm. link I turn just in time to see Captain Gaeta with Lt. Gaeta and Amanda walk onto the Bridge, 'am I spoiling Amanda with this treatment?' I let out an audible sigh, and signal for all three of them to take a seat; this time the secondary command console has been set to liaison mode with a second chair added to the XOs station.

"Sir, the Zeus and the Strikestars are now jumping." Lt. Anderson announced, while we watched the ships begin to disappear in flashes of light. It was quite a sight to behold, as the fleet started to jump away; the Anchorage jumped next and both Colonials on the bridge were awed by the large station jumping away with the rest of the fleet. As we waited for the civilian ships to complete the jump sequence, I gave Lt. Anderson the signal to order our DSDs home and to retrieve the wombats and sledgehammers that were deployed.

The Aurora was jumping last to not only cover the rest of the fleet, but to deploy a gravity bomb. I had decided to leave the Cylons a going away present in the form of an artificial black hole, especially since we had detected them massing just two light minutes out. I had Lt. Anderson transmitting false sensor data to trick the Cylons into attacking a fleet that was in reality no longer present. "Sir, Cylons are preparing to attack; one minute to jump sequence is complete for the fleet save Aurora." Our liaison officers looked at me for a moment, wondering why we had not mentioned that we had detected the Cylons. "Lt. Anderson is our gift for the Cylons ready?" "Yes Sir, they won't know what hit them; the G Bomb is ready for deployment."

"Commander, what is a G Bomb?" I looked at Captain Gaeta, "It is short for Gravity Bomb, or easier still an Artificial Black Hole generator." Once again both liaison officers looked at me, only this time it was in fear; the fact that I had just mentioned to them that we have a weapon capable of generating a black hole is a freighting concept. It is even more so since the technology was adapted from captured Ori technology, the very same technology that was used to destroy Regina VI.

"Sir, all ships have completed the jump; we're the last ones, deploying sensor mask and G Bomb now." The HUD displayed the now floating weapon and the sensor mask creating the false readouts for the Cylons to attempt to attack. "Okay, Dr. Myers please initiate jump." The energy build was much shorter this time and there was almost no pain as we jumped and as the light faded, we were able to see the fleet just ahead of us. "Ensign Corman, let the Anchorage and the Zeus know we have completed the jump." "Yes Sir, transmitting to Anchorage and Zeus now."

The only thing that could be missing now was the chance to see the look on the Cylons faces when they realize that they had walked into a black hole. Officially the Bridge crew has been on shift for the past eighteen some odd hours, and like it or not it was time for some down time. "Okay, XO it time for the Night Watch to take over; we all need some time to relax and get some rest." "Yes Sir, alright you heard the Commander; Night Watch you're on shift, all other Bridge crew dismissed."

As we began to file out of the Bridge, "Okay, who is up for a poker game?" "You can count me in Commander, besides you still have some of my hard earn money that I want to get back." Of course Lt. Anderson is always up for a chance to get his money back from me, and then of course Charlie always joins in for the chance to make fun of Lt. Anderson. "Yep, this is going to be fun; you always lose Anderson; I wonder how you have any money left at all?" "Try me Polk, just try me." I look to Captain and Lt. Gaeta, "Care to join us? It is a good way to unwind after a hard day." They look at each other for a moment before agreeing to join us, both Lt. Anderson and Charlie smiled at their choice to join us; yep fresh meat is their thought.

"Amanda, what about you, do you want to join us for a game of poker?" "I don't know Big Brother; I don't know how to play poker." Charlie and Lt. Anderson both jumped at that, "What, than you have got to join us, we will even teach you." Yea, those two probably just want to see if Amanda is as good as Melissa was at bluffing our rears off.

Amanda quickly agreed after that, knowing my luck Amanda will have the same bluffing skills as her sister. As we adjourn to my quarters for the poker game, I give the Chief a call to tell him about the poker game and to see if he will bring up something from the mess.

A few minutes after reaching my quarters and setting up the poker table, the Chief manages to join us with a tray of snacks from the mess hall. "Thanks Chief, so you in for the usual or going bold tonight?" "Commander, I feel like going bold; I'm putting in my Fabricator rations for the week." "You are going bold Chief, normally you only bet that moonshine of yours, but a weeks worth of Fabricator rations; very bold." Charlie was drooling over that pot, and over course Lt. Anderson sweetens it by adding his fabricator rations as well; probably didn't want to risk his money again. I told Amanda and the Gaetas that they didn't have to put anything into the pot for this game, while I put 'Lt. Andersons' money into the pot.

As I started dealing, Captain Gaeta "What is Fabricator Rations?" "The fabricators create all forms of matter; a basic example is the food we're eating right now, this is all fabricated matter. The fabricators take energy from the buffer unit and arrange it in such a way that it forms into matter; there are limitations to the types of matter we can fabricate, the more complex it is the more energy it needs but there are some items that we need resource matter to use as a base, because the matter is too complex for the buffer to contain the necessary energy."

They both looked awed by my explanation about the fabricators, more than likely another technology that they have yet to develop. But anyway during the first few hands, Charlie and Lt. Anderson seemed to be beating the rest of us with little effort. Into the fifth hand, Amanda had managed to bluff us into folding; followed by the eighth, twelfth and fourteenth hands. That was when I noticed a pattern, she was carefully choosing when to bluff us and when not to; smart girl she is as good as Melissa. The Gaetas were getting the hang of poker 'must have a similar game in the colonies,' but they did not show the aptitude for it like Amanda. Amanda even has the same tells as Melissa, maybe Amanda is actually a clone of Melissa, that would explain why she is so. 'Oh dear, focus Phoenix; remember this is Amanda and no matter how beautiful she is, not good stay on the game Phoenix.'

The game progressed as it normally would and eventually we brought it to an end, after three hours of playing; it is time to get some proper sleep. Both Charlie and Lt. Anderson left sullen at their losses and the Chief seemed happy enough with his winnings. Both the Gaetas said their good nights before heading down the corridor to their quarters that left me and Amanda to clean up. I was putting away the Poker Table and Amanda was putting up the poker deck and chips, when "Big Brother, what is this?" I turn around to see her holding a photo; it was a photo of when Melissa and I had gone to the beach on the Lantean coast line.

"That was when Melissa and I had gone to the beach, while we were at Atlantis; I had wanted to surprise her, but she was the one who did most of the surprising. I had actually fallen face first into the sand during our walk on the beach; I paid to much attention to her and not enough to where I was walking. She laughed at me for a solid three minutes, she had such a beautiful laugh but I was able to turn the tables for a moment." Amanda smiled, "Really how?" "Simple, I tackled her into the water; but that kind of back fired when she managed to sit on me. I was trapped, so I did the only thing that I could do; I tickled her and I was rewarded when she loss her balance. I was free and now I had a weapon I could use, and so I did; we chased each other around for a good twenty minutes."

I had sat down on the couch and Amanda was standing over me, "After we finished our game of tickle tag, we just sat on the beach and watched the sunset; ended up staying there for almost four hours after the sun had gone down. You know I am wondering something?" Amanda was now standing just about a foot from me, "What is that?" "I wonder are you ticklish?" With that I launch myself at her; Amanda manages to evade me at first, but I quickly corner her in the sleeping area. "There's no escape Amanda, it is time to find out if you are ticklish" as I approach her Amanda tries to get past me and knocks the both of us onto the bed.

We stare into each others eyes, I don't know why but I feel the need to capture her lips; but this is Amanda, I know she is not Melissa. Somehow I feel this need and I can feel it growing stronger with each passing second as I stare into her beautiful baby blue eyes. We finally manage to break our stares, 'My god I better sort out what is happening to me, don't want to ruin my friendship with Amanda.' "I'm sorry Amanda; I should have known better, I should have" "You wanted to kiss me?" I looked at Amanda for a moment, did she just say that? Amanda continued, "I only ask because, because I wanted to kiss you. I know I'm not Melissa, but I, I feel, I feel that we can be something. I hope that I'm not making you uncomfortable."

I look into Amanda's eyes again, perhaps it is not memories of me and Melissa but maybe, just maybe I am developing feelings for Amanda. Physically we are close enough in age, but I need to sort out my feelings before I can even consider pursuing anything with Amanda. "Amanda, can you give me sometime; you see I need to see if what I am feeling is actually feelings for you or my feelings for Melissa. I don't want to hurt you if it turns out to be my feelings for Melissa, I hope you can understand." By this time we are holding each other's hands, her soft silky smooth skin just starting to callus from working on the deck. "I understand, I can see why Melissa fell in love with you; it is the same for me, you're sweat and caring, you don't want to hurt me with false hope or feelings. Melissa and I actually argued over which one of us could have you, I turned down every guy that asked me to be their girlfriend. I wanted you, and Melissa had you; we made up and both agreed that maybe we could even share you. Not that way, but maybe I could have sometime with you and be your girlfriend and see if I was truly in love. Then Melissa died, and as you carried her beside her friends from the ship, I decided that I needed to grow up and honor her memory. I even tried to see myself with any guy other than you, it never felt right; and each time I would end up imagining you sweeping me off my feet."

As I looked at Amanda, I could feel every word she said; she must have been feeling this way for years. We stand up and move over to the door, "Good night Amanda, remember there is always hope" after which I kissed her on the forehead. "Good night John, I love you," with that she left my quarters and made her way to her bunk down near the deck. I secured my door and walked over to my desk, picking up the picture of Melissa and me from the deck party, "Melissa, I think I am falling in love with Amanda. If I am, I hope that you can forgive me, my love." After putting the picture back on my desk, I sit down and begin entry into my personal log; tomorrow is going to be a long day, hopefully we will be ready for whatever comes our way.


	9. Chapter 9 Promar Sector

Promar Sector – New Friends and Family

T-Plus One Week from Geodesic Jump

The organization of the fleet has gone better than I would have expected, and the volunteer pool for the positions among the re-commissioned Battlestars is higher than predicated. The refit of Colonial ships is also underway with average results; the Valkyrie is currently under going refit in the Anchorage Dock. The refit designs have been modified in order to bring Colonial ships closer to Star Forces standards. The Valkyrie will be equipped with a Naquadria Power Core; Lantean enhanced networked mainframe, Inertial Dampeners and an older generation Gravitic-magneto propulsion system. The modifications being made to the Valkyrie, once complete will make her into a whole new animal; one which the Cylons will be hard pressed to keep up with in a battle.

The Zeus will under go a slightly different refit in comparisons to the other ships, and this is due to the weapon modifications the Zeus will undergo. Normally Star Forces Regulations clearly state the sharing of weapon technologies would result in immediate arrest and removal from duty. Due to our current conditions and the fact that the majority of the weapon technology is already producible by the Colonials, it would not be going against the letter of the regulations. I have no delusion of being able to go without punishment for my actions and choices, once we return home I will face the consequences; but for now my main concern is to protect this fleet and get my crew home.

The Chief has already requested permission to train some of the Colonials in maintaining the technology that we are sharing. To that end I have ordered the installation of a Matter Fabricator onboard of the Anchorage, this is so we can refit the Colonial ships with greater ease. Commander Caine has asked that a second Fabricator be installed on the Anchorage in order to provide materials for clothes and medicines. Several of the Colonial civilians have already attempted to purchase Personal Fabricators for use on their ships; I have promised them that the Public Fabricator on the Anchorage will be open to everyone, regardless of their social status. Several of the Fleet Tenders have brought in asteroids that we are now using as resource material for fabrication of the more complex equipment.

The team of Engineers that I have assigned to the Anchorage has put forward the design of a new Combat Aero-Space frame for the Colonial Vipers. The Colonial stick jockeys have lovingly named it the Mark SF, the design overall is the same as the Mark VII; but with the Inertial Dampeners added to the design and with a crystalline computer unit. They are confident that they can have a working prototype within the month, until then we are continuing combat drills for joint flight operations between the Vipers and the 302s.

The civilians have setup a temporary leadership onboard of the Olympus until we can join up with the Galactica Fleet and the Lawful Government of the Colonies. The recently promoted Commander Winters says 'the civvies are going to try and turn you and the Aurora crew into a group of heroes for helping us back in the colonies.' I can only hope that they would choose something other than that, we don't want or need to be seen as heroes. As members of the Star Forces we took an oath to defend and protect lives; no matter who they are or where they are from; everyone has the right to live and that is the reason why we came to their aid.

That is neither here or there, right now my mind is focused on more immediate concerns about the crew and how helping the Colonials will affect them. It is unknown how long we will be here in this galaxy, and to make matters worse without a star-map of this region of space; finding a way home will be a difficult task to accomplish. If we were heading towards Kobol from home; we would know exactly which way is Earth, but from here; it is far more difficult than one would expect. Our best bet is to find Kobol and hope that there are still some star-maps of this area intact, maybe then we can determine a course for home.

But the greatest issue is if this ship will become a 'Generational' ship, and if it does how will the crew handle the journey back to Earth. For the first time in over three million years has this issue truly been addressed, well I think it was addressed then; I won't know for certain until we find Kobol. I hope that we will not have to consider this as a 'Generational' ship, but there is a part of me; it has been growing stronger with each passing day; for the last two weeks I can now say for certain, that would enjoy the idea of this ship undergoing such a change. There is also the fact that we may decide to remain in this galaxy with the Colonials, we are making friends and some of them have even expressed an interest in the Star Forces. Back home we are a community easily in the millions; but here we are a small community barely in the thousands, right now anyway to ensure that this community continues will be welcomed; but I will not sacrifice our new friends just for this community.

As I continue looking over the reports on my desk, the chimes signal that there is someone just outside of my quarters. I quickly answer the door to find Amanda standing there, moving aside to let her in I notice a faint smile on her face. Is it possible that she knows me like Melissa did; it is more than likely after all Amanda has been patient enough with me as it is. "Amanda, I am glad you can make it; remember what we talked about after the poker game last week?" "I remember and I have been wondering why you seemed to be avoiding the deck that is until I remembered something about deck wax." Curse Cally and that deck wax stunt of hers, but I might be able to use that to my advantage this time. I secured the door, only as I secure it I openly say '92A3655AW1'; this draws Amanda's attention as I join her on the couch.

"What was that about?" Amanda gave me a look demanding answers, I shrug my shoulders and "What, do you not want to be able to come and go as you please?" I can see the cogs in Amanda's head turn in thought in regards to my inquiry to her question, perhaps our relationship will be a little on the odd side at first but then again what relationship isn't. For a single moment she pressed her lips to together trying to understand my actions, then suddenly her eyes widen in realization. "Do you mean that," I don't even let her finish, I believe that this a nice kiss will answer her question.

I had meant it to be a quick kiss, but after tasting her lips; I found that I wanted more but I managed to hold back. "Does that answer you question Amanda?" I notice that she is feeling something akin to my feelings as well, maybe she will ask for confirmation. "I don't know, maybe you should answer me again. I personally liked the first answer; thou answering the same way twice would be fine with me." Yep, this will be an interesting relationship and I would love to begin; but there are times and places for all things. "That is good to hear, and perhaps maybe I will give you more of the same answers but let's take it slow at first. You see there is another reason that I have asked you here and that reason is a special mission that I want you to take."

Amanda frowned at me, I can hear it coming; 'You want me on a mission and this just after saying that we can become couple, you jerk.' And true to form, "What, you want me on a mission and this after just telling me that you want us to have a relationship, you jerk." At least I did not predict it word for word; I better give her the mission brief before she kills me; would not be good if my date to the Colonial Celebration has to go with a corpse. "Amanda, before you do anything I want you to hear what the mission is before you kill me; okay?" She gives me a crud nod signaling that she will listen to me, thank the heavens that she has restrained herself thus far. "Amanda, your mission and that is if you choose to accept it; and I hope that you will, is to be escorted by me to the Colonial Celebration Dinner on the Olympus. You see I have been asked to attend and I would like to have a date for the dinner, besides considering our current circumstances; I really don't have anywhere else to take you for our first date."

"Then why say that it is a mission, this is going to be our first date; so why the whole Commander ordering a mission bit?" I look at my desk for a moment, "Amanda, when we get back to Earth, more than likely the entire Command Staff will be striped of our ranks and arrested for disobeying Star Forces Regulations. We are sharing technology, some old and had been authorized for trading but Naquadria and weapons technologies are among those that officers can be executed for sharing. The Asgard has tried that path once, and in the end the people they tried to help destroyed their world with the technology. Star Forces regs have a clear outline of technologies that can be shared with civilizations that have yet to develop these systems. By logging our date as an official mission under diplomatic contact, I am able to shield you from being held accountable to the Frat Regs." I could tell that this explanation might not sit well with Amanda, but at least I can try to protect her on some level. "Okay, mister just this once will we log our date as a mission; but after we get back we are going to have a long talk about you trying to protect me from something that might not happen. The entire crew knows it is going to be next to impossible to get back to Earth unless we have a map, so people on the deck are already looking for someone special."

I shake my head 'should have known', the crew is already preparing themselves for the possibility that we may never be able to go home. Looks like the chances of this becoming a 'Generational' ship has just shot up, but at least everyone is ready to accept the chance of never getting home. "Amanda, we also have to put up a front for the Colonials; to them we are a military power from this galaxy, I just hope that the crew will remember that as well. Now then how about I leave you and go to the Bridge, you can have my Fabricator rations; use them as you see fit."

Leaving my quarters, I move towards the Bridge; Commander Winters managed to warn me in time about the civilian leadership's plans. Those plans have given me the opportunity to set the ball rolling for my plans to safe guard the ship and crew. If worse comes to worse the fleet will be divided, but if my plans hold true then the bonds within the fleet will strengthen. I wonder what Amanda will wear on our date; actually better question is how Christina will react when she learns that Amanda and I are going to have a personal relationship. Hopefully she will react in her normal 'I'm the XO' way to any relationship on board between crewmates.

The next five hours are amongst the most nerve racking that I have ever experienced, even during the wars I never felt this frayed before. "Commander, are you uncomfortable about the dinner party that you are going to have to attend tonight?" Lt. Anderson is only adding to may frayed nerves, and since he will be left in command of the ship for the next seven hours; let's just say I would love to creel up with Amanda then go over to the Olympus. 'Hmm that might be a good way to unwind after the dinner is to spend some time with Amanda.' "Remember Lt. Anderson, we may have fired upon the Cylons back at Picon orbit; but first and foremost if the Cylons show up, it is talk first and shooting only if they shoot at us first. Am I understood Lt. Anderson?" Lt. Anderson acknowledged his standing orders, the last thing we need is for the Cylons to believe that the Star Forces are their enemies; of course our actions back at the Colonies wont help with that standing.

As I enter my quarters to prepare for the dinner party, I am greeted by the most beautiful sight I have seen in this galaxy. Standing there before me is Amanda, wearing a deep sea blue silk dress; her purse on the coffee table, it is of the same coloring as her dress; there was only one thing off with the image, she is standing there bare foot. "Amanda, you look beautiful; but if I may ask, where are your shoes?" She walked up to me and poked me in the chest, "you try walking around in high heels; I want to save my feet from that torture for as long as I can." That is one thing I can say that I have been lucky enough never to endure is what is called the dreaded stand of high heels. Even Christina had argued that wearing high heels was a pain in the rear, I myself never made any comments; saving me from her wrath more than once while Charlie and Anderson were not as tactical.

"I hope you don't mind if I get dressed Amanda, after all we only have about twenty minutes to get to the deck for our Jumper flight over to the Anchorage." As I moved over to my closet, "Is there a reason we can't use the Rings or Transport Beam, John?" 'She called me John again, now I definitely know I am going to enjoy our time together' I tilt my head back, "We don't want to scare them and besides I would like to limit the amount of contamination we inflict upon their culture for as long as possible." I turn my attention back to finding my dress uniform, god how I hate having to wear the damned thing; of course it is protocol for things like this, I think that Christina would even prefer high heels to dress uniforms. "Amanda, have you been in my closet? I can't seem to find my dress uniform." "Actually I think you have it in the locker by your desk, well that is if I can believe this note you have here, 'Note to self, find a way to burn Class One Uniform hidden in locker.'" I looked down sheepishly, I did write that note; I must have been frayed more than I first thought if I can forget about wanting to burn the thing.

I leave the closet and move to retrieve my dreaded uniform from its hidden place in my locker, taking it I then move into the private bathroom to get dressed. Dear god, who can wear this thing and be able to move around properly; I am certain that no matter how many times I have it altered to fit me there is always some part of it that is just to snug for my tastes. Thor is lucky that he can get away with just wearing a jacket for his dress whites, and that is something else that bugs me to no end; are we a separate section of the Armed Forces or are we just an extension of the Navy, other then the ranks our Class One Uniforms are practically the same. We even have the white hats with the symbol of the Star Forces embroidered on the front; this has been a matter of constant disagreement among the ground pounders and the stick jockeys, whom both have had long standing rivalries with sea dogs.

"Amanda, are you ready to go?" Amanda gives me an affirmative before slipping her shoes on, I am more then certain she would prefer something else for her feet. To save time and Amanda's feet, we use the nearby Transport Chamber to reach the flight deck. There we are greeted by the deck crew moving our Jumper into position on the deck, standing nearby is the Gaetas and their version of a Class One Uniform. Never seen gray considered as a color for uniforms of this type, but then again we are in another galaxy; the old saying 'when in Rome, do as the Romans do' enters my mind for a moment. I quickly find my XO standing at the end of the Jumper waiting for the Gaetas to board.

The short flight over to the Anchorage was for the most part uneventful; the only thing that could be considered anything else was when Captain Gaeta asked about the Jumpers and how the inside has such available space. I only mentioned that it falls back to our level of advancement and that eventually the Colonies would reach a similar stage of development. As we approached the Anchorage the pilot, "Anchorage Control, this is Jumper one-three-one, requesting clearance to land; I have guests going to the Olympus."

_Confirmed Jumper one-three-one, approach bay three portside; speed one five zero, the checks are red call the ball._

"Roger that, approaching bay three portside; speed is at one five zero, checks red I have the ball."

We land shortly afterwards, the landing sequence slightly different then our own, but it is close enough to allow for us to ready ourselves for the next leg of the trip. After the Jumper is secured, the first to disembark is our pilot; followed by the Gaetas and then Christina and Keith, we are the last off of the Jumper and move to join the others. With some quick greetings we move into the Colonial shuttle that will take us over to the Olympus, I will admit the shuttle does appear to be fine quality workmanship. This leg of the trip is slightly longer than the first, but then again I am comparing two different levels of technology. Our landing this time was widely viewed, apparently what is left of the Colonial News Reporters have gather to watch our landing.

"Reporters must be the same anywhere you go, am I correct Commander Phoenix?" I turn to look at Commander Walters, he must hate this as much as me, perhaps even the rest also. "I am not really certain, but if they act remotely like it is the last chance that I would be standing nearby then I would agree with you." He gave me a snort in agreement, that is probably what is going to happen the moment that they catch sight of Star Forces uniforms.

During this disembarking, it had been decided that a car will be standing by the shuttle hatch in order for us to move quickly into a limo that had been acquired for the occurrence. Even after all of the precautions to keep us away from the reporters, we still have an encounter with them; but it is under the control of the current civilian leadership, politics; I truly dislike these games. Even so, we are their guests and it would be rude not to say something but I will wait for the right subject to strike with; after all the politics back home is just as bad as it is here.

"Welcome, welcome; I am Chairman Fredrick Roberts of the Caprica City Council. We all would like to thank you and your crew for helping us with the Cylons." Chairman Roberts extended his hand to me, I take it, "There is no need for thanks, and we were just providing aid to refugees in a battle-zone. I am certain that the Colonial Fleet would do the same for others, is that not correct?" "Of course, now then how about we sit down and enjoy this wonderful dinner that has been prepared in honor of your rescuing of the fleet." I look at the Councilman; he is definitely going to try to play his cards with me as his ace up his shelve. As I sit down next to Amanda, "Sir, Commander; can you tell me what your plans are in regards to the Cylons?" 'What is this nothing more then' I give out a sigh, 'yep this is a political grab for power amongst the civilians.' "If I may ask who you are?" "I am Aaron Doral, Olympus Free Press; now if you can, what are your plans in regards to the Cylons?" Mister Doral seemed to be every interested in my possible response, but it is Captain Gaeta whispering 'Sir, the last I knew Mister Aaron Doral is on the Galactica. And what's more he is a Public Relations worker; this man could be his twin, but the resemblance is too uncanny.'

I nod my head in reply, time for a quick political bluff; but also add a twist of truth to the mix, "Mister Doral, at this time we have no plans in regards to the Cylons. But if we do encounter them, our first action will be to attempt diplomatic communications and we will only use force if they fire upon us. It is preferred that any combat be avoided if and when possible, I hope that will answer your question on the subject." The majority of the guests looked up at that statement and stated talking amongst themselves, while Councilman Roberts seemed to be annoyed with my answer. "Excuse me Commander, did you forget we are at war with the Cylons. They are the enemy and they should be destroyed as soon as possible, isn't that why you are modifying the military ships in the fleet?" I look directly at the Councilman, but before I could respond Commander Caine stood, "Councilman Roberts, the Aurora and her crew are not members of the Colonial Fleet. They are not at war with the Cylons and nor are we, yes the Cylons attacked the Colonies; but President Adar surrendered to the Cylons at the onset of hostilities. And while the Aurora did fire on and destroy several Cylon basestars, they only did so after the Cylons fired upon them." This caused the entire hall to be bathed in silence, "Commander Caine, I can understand that the Aurora only returned fire during the battle at Picon. But the ship and crew are still military, and as thus they fight to protect the people or are you saying that they are planning to leave us to the Cylons." Oh dear, political cat fight inbound; "Commander Caine, Councilman Roberts; it is as of this time that the Galactic Star Forces are currently not at war with the Cylon people and as thus this argument has no reason to continue. The people of this fleet need both Civilian and Military leadership, so let us stand united to protect and lead the people."

For just a moment there is a single clapping noise, we turn to see Mister Doral clapping his hands. "Commander Phoenix, would you mind if I added one thing to your passionate speech?" I tip my head in approval; he raises his fist into the air and shouts "So Say We All", quickly others in the room join in with Mister Doral shouting 'so say we all'. This must be a major part of their culture, they seem to be repeating it as if it is a chant and with each one, more people join in; even the councilman and the commanders have joined in, all that is left are the four of us from the Aurora. After practically everyone in the room has shouted the same words, silence once more seems to have taken hold with Mister Doral softly saying 'so say we all.' After that the dinner seems to have gone well, stories are told of different things in the past, but what I am most interested in is the stories from the First Cylon-Colonial War.

"And then, we jump in and what do you know; the Galactica has already destroyed the Cylon base and is just sitting there waiting for the Pegasus to catch up with them. The Commander never lived it down; he was always competing with the Commander from the Galactica at the time. I was sore from losing my bet with Adama; I had bet that the Pegasus would be the first to hit the enemy base." Caine seems to be enjoying reminiscing about days gone by; Amanda seems to be a little more comfortable with the subject than the others present. "Can you tell me about the Cylons, I would love to hear about this species; you make them sound like ingenious engineers." Caine seemed to blanch at Amanda's request, but why I am certain that Caine of all people would let us know about a possible threat.

"That they are little lady, those machines are skilled engineers; I remember being one of the few to survive close quarters combat with a Cylon. They are nasty frakkers; you have to hit them with an explosive round from your side arm to take them down. But one thing that I want to know, Phoenix why call them people; the Cylons are nothing but smart machines that are out to kill us. Used to be we lived and let lived, but I guess that the Cylons really want to kill us if they have gone as far as nuking the Colonies." Machines, now this is interesting; is it possible that someone in the Colonies had attempted to create life, similar to when I created Annalisa from a batch of nano-cells?

Amanda looked at me for a moment before I answered Caine's question, for us the existence of artificial life has been a given; but is it that what put the Cylons and Colonies at odds with each other? "Caine, back home we have an artificial species that we call Replicators and they number in the millions; they have their own home world and we live in peace with them. We managed this by treating them as we would treat each other, in fact I have a daughter back home; her name is Annalisa and she is a third generation Replicator. I created her and her older siblings a few years ago, I did this so I can feel what it is like to create life; they have no programming to control them, they are free to grow and choose who they want to be; just like they are flesh and blood. In fact back home there is even research into the possible birth of hybrid children between Replicator and Tua'ri."

Caine looked at the two of us for a moment before laughing, "Ah, I knew there was another reason why you guys seemed so open with the Cylons before they attacked you. To think that you guys have your own version of the Cylons and that yours are free to do what they want from the get go. So, how many of your crew are these 'Replicators'; it would have been so much easier for everyone forty years ago if you guys had shown up." Caine smiled at the truth that we lived beside living machines and treated them as equals, maybe that hadn't happened here. "Actually, there are no Replicators in the Star Forces right now; other than Annalisa and her brother and sister, there were no Replicators amongst us until four years ago. And it took a lot of apologizing from us to get them to even consider talking with us, they were born thousands of years ago and at first we treated them like machines; we have done a lot of growing up since then." Caine shook his head and took a swig of his drink, from there we talked about the different ways we treated the Replicators and how the Cylons had been treated.

After the dinner ended we returned to our respective ships and commands, I myself carrying some much needed information if I hoped to bring the Cylons and Colonials to the peace tables. Christina and Keith returned to their quarters and the Gaetas had decided to spend sometime with each other in the Observation Garden. That left me and Amanda alone, something I intended to use to my advantage in order to bring us closer together. Amanda had gone to the sleeping area, while I used the bathroom to get changed out of my dress whites. When I returned, I opened my desk and pulled out the Console unit; I quickly entered the new information into the mainframe. As I finished up, Ensign Louis notified me of a ship to ship connection from the Olympus for me.

"Hello, Mister Doral. What can I help you with?"

_Commander Phoenix, I hope I am not interrupting anything._

"Not at this time. So is there anything that I can do for you?"

_Yes, can you tell me; will you treat any Cylons as if they are equals?_

"Of course, from the Star Forces point of view even machines who can think on their own are living beings that are afforded the same rights as anyone else."

_I see, so let's say that I am a Cylon, what would you do?_

"I would ask you why attack the Colonies after forty years, why not start out with talking first before killing people."

_Interesting, what if my response is that they were going to attack first and that the Cylon people were only protecting themselves?_

"Again I would look at it as a neutral third party and ask why they would attack you, and what would there be to gain from such an attack."

_Okay, how about if I said that they are Cylons amongst this fleet and that they appear human?_

"I would say talking about this over an open channel could possibly cause panic amongst the civilian populace. If you like we can continue this conversation here on the Aurora, if you are what you are implying then I can at least ensure your safety."

_Even after the Aurora was attacked by Cylons, you are still willing to listen and protect u... them if they ask?_

"As long as they are willing to talk and promise not to attempt to harm anyone, then yes I would still listen and even protect them; as long as they ask of course."

_Of course, Commander I would like to take up your offer. You see there is a young woman that I know, her name is Catherine Baker; but she is afraid that she is really a Cylon. I have managed to keep her fears from being learned by anyone in the fleet, but I am afraid that if she stays here that she will be killed._

"I see; there is a Jumper run scheduled for seven hundred hours tomorrow morning. If you and Miss Baker can meet the pilot in the landing bay, we can have the both of you onboard the Aurora."

_Thank You Commander, but after Catherine is onboard you ship I am going to return to my office._

"I understand Mister Doral, but please be careful; don't want you to get hurt because someone thinks that you are a Cylon Calibrator."

_Of course, in fact how about I schedule an interview with you and then if anyone asks I can say that I was just getting a story about the Star Forces._

"That sounds like a plan Mister Doral; I will see you in the morning for our interview. And please remember to bring your assistant Miss Baker."

_Of course, Catherine and I will be there and Commander Thank You._

The connection closed and I turned to see Amanda looking at me with a smile on her face, "So we're going to have guests tomorrow?" "Yes, or rather we are going to be protecting someone for a while; we might have also have been given a chance at an open dialog with the Cylon people." I join her on the couch and we start to talk, about nothing really just talking about whatever comes to mind. This is nice and relaxing, I just hope that everything will work out in the end; this might be the beginning of a whole new family for me and the crew, with hopefully both the Colonials and the Cylons.


	10. Chapter 10 Crystalline Technologies

Crystalline Technologies – Meeting Cylons

T-Plus Eight Days from Geodesic Jump

We started at five hundred thirty hours, this staff meeting being one of the most important and classified during this journey thus far; our main topic is the possible Cylons in the fleet. For the past forty-five minutes we had discussed the possible ramifications to the Colonials, none of them good in the short or long terms. "Anderson, why didn't we detect these Cylons in the fleet before; you getting forgetful in your old age?" "Polk, did you forget that only a small handful of us are even in our mid-thirties; even the Commander is just physically pushing thirty-two. And as for detecting the Cylons, my sensors are not designed for Biometrics, yes I can give you a life-sign count on any ship or planet; but I can't tell you what species they are." Hiendol sighs during their argument; if the Aurora had been a science vessel we would have immediately noticed two distinct species amongst the fleet. The Aurora being geared more towards combat, the life sciences department was not give as high a priority as other departments.

"You two stop arguing for five minutes please, look we all have to take into consideration what this means; while also looking into improving the Aurora." They both quiet down while I turn to Hiendol, "Can you get me a complete biometric scan of Mister Doral and Miss Baker before they leave the deck?" "Yes, quite easily but we will still need to have a proper examination to ensure that our scans are accurate." At this time Captain Rights decides to speak up, "With respect Commander, why allow them onboard at all; they could be planning to sabotage the ship or steal some of our technology." "Captain Rights, we are allowing them onboard so we can open a dialog with the Cylon people. As for your other concerns, like the Colonials they will be confined to only non-critical sections of the ship." The captain seemed to think over my statement while the XO, "Captain, even I know that stealing technology from the Aurora would be useless for them. Like the Colonials, the Cylons just don't have the means of recreating our level of technology; yes it could point them in the right direction; but if it was not for the Asgard and Lanteans Earth would still be trying to figure out how the crystalline technology works, let alone using it as extensively as we do."

"Let me state for the record, the technology that we have physically been sharing is limited to the Naquadria power cores, Inertial Dampeners and the gravitic-magneto propulsion. We have shared the basic network designs and program code, but everything from there we have kept to ideas and verbal knowledge." Captain Rights now seemed more comfortable with having an unknown threat onboard the ship, but I would rather have his security personnel on hand anyway. "Now then, if Captain Rights will permit the use of a security team to watch our guests," with a nod of approval I continue "it has come to my attention that members of the crew are in violation of the Fraternization Regulations. I know that I am not one to talk, but we need to put up a front of still being a military ship; in other words even thou we might not get home anytime soon, we need to continue to follow protocol."

Charlie shook his head, "We get it, file the forms and be professional when one of us is on duty. But you have to admit that the only ones of us that are going to see home again with any certainty are you, Hermiod and Hiendol. The way the three of you age, I can easily be pushing fifty and you would still look about thirty-two; and that is with you being five years older than me." Oh, Charlie; why did you have to mention that, is it not enough that I have to live with the knowledge that I will take ten times longer to age; do you have to remind me. "Mister Polk, remember that these are you crewmates; don't you think it is hard enough on them as it is, they can never have a normal life and have a relationship with someone." Dr. Myers quickly stopped when she looked towards us, but Lt. Anderson felt the need to continue "Actually they can have relationships, it is just that for the time being they have to expect that those might not last. I know Melissa and now Amanda both accepted the fact that they might end up looking older than the Commander in a few years."

"Amanda, as in NCO Amanda Williams; Commander, you are suppose to set an example for the crew. Should I even ask how long you have known each other?" Christina is indeed angry with me, "I have known Amanda since she was seventeen; and before you say a word Lt. Anderson; need I remind you that you are dating a seven year old?" "Sir, you know full well that Andrea is a Replicator; they are full adults by four years of age and besides that we are two different species; the age barrier doesn't count." Dr. Myers joined in, "What, interspecies dating and here I thought that I had an open mind." It was Hermiod that got us back on track, "Be that as it may, we are here to discuss the fleet and the Cylons; not the interspecies relationship practices of Commander Phoenix and NCO Williams." Hermiod, Oi; but at least we can focus back on topic, "Lt. Anderson can you give me a report of the Colonial Military resources?"

"Yes Sir, after confirming the numbers with the Anchorage; we have thirty-seven Colonial Military ships. Of which we have the Warstar Zeus; current crew is roughly five thousand personnel and officers. They have a standard armament of twenty nuclear missiles in the thirty megaton range, forward bow rail cannons with nickel-iron rounds and the units' number at six with a loading time of nineteen seconds per round. The next system is their CIWS arrays, from bow to stern and port to starboard they have a total of fifty-six emplacements; these are located primarily along the dorsal hull, they have around ten in strategic locations across the ventral hull. Their armor is roughly five meters thick for the outer armor and another three meters for their inner armor, the primary armor is designed to take a beating and come back for more; I would venture that it would take three sledgehammers to penetrate their outer armor, the inner armor is geared towards radiation shielding; both armors working in tandem provide the Zeus a working shielding armor that can protect them from most forms of heavy radiation"

Not much if they end up inside of a star's gravity well, but more than enough for standard stellar navigation in most nebulas. I wonder what these people must have been through for their ships to carry that much shielding inside of a physical armor, is it possible that they have primarily used nuclear weapons as the main weapon of choice? "Lt. Anderson, is there anything else about the Zeus itself?" The Lt. looked over the report, "Sir, there is one odd thing about the Zeus; the primary drive system for FTL, it appears to be Lantean in design. I am not certain of the exact extent but I would guess that the first Colonial Jump Drive was in reality a Lantean Geodesic Fold Drive. I have already asked Dr. Myers to compile a report on the Colonial Jump Drive installed here on board the Aurora." We all turn to Dr. Myers as she stands, "Thank you, Mister Anderson; I have completed my inspection of the Colonial Jump Drive and I can say with some certainty that the technology was original Lantean in origin. Because of the system's design I am certain that there is no remaining data with the Colonials in regards to the original system, I am confident that I will be able to repair the GFD created by Professor Willings using the Colonial Jump Drive as a basis." Each of us looked at our reports before looking back up at Dr. Myers, would it be possible to back track our original jump and return home? The bigger question of the two would be, do we take the Colonials with us if we can jump back home.

"I see Doctor, I would like a full report on the GFD; perhaps it is possible to back track our original jump to this galaxy." Dr. Myers responded with an affirmative to my request, if we are lucky enough we can at least get a barring towards home; any way that we can increase the odds of getting home would be more then welcomed. I turn my attention back to the report from Lt. Anderson, thirty-seven armed ships under military control. Three classes of Battlestars; the Mercury class Battlestar Roanoke, equipped with thirty-two CIWS arrays, ten nuclear missiles with four bow rail cannons and six flight wings of Mark VII Vipers numbering twenty per and finally a crew count at twenty-nine hundred. Then there is the three Guardian class Battlestars the Valkyrie, the Wildstar and the Pisces; each of which carry twenty-eight CIWS arrays, ten nuclear missiles with four bow rail cannons and four flight wings of Mark VIIs; there crew counts range to thirteen hundred personnel. The five Columbia class Battlestars are amongst the most interesting of the fleet, unlike the other classes of Battlestars the Columbia's appear to use a varying array of CIWS systems that cover the entirety of the hull with over-lapping fields of fire. At roughly the same length as the Aurora, these ships are clearly the eldest of the Colonial designs; they have twenty nuclear missile launchers, but the lack the warheads from the missiles. Inside of the flight pods, we located nearly three hundred Vipers of differing designs; with the stores to feed a crew of twenty-four hundred people and the space to house twice that number, I would venture that they were designed at the offset of a war.

"The Defenstars are as the name implies are geared to defensive operations; the rough crew count is at eight hundred. This allows them to carry a greater amount of ammunitions for their weapons then even battlestars; with little to no missile batteries or other offensive systems other than a single flight wing of Mark VII Vipers, the best use for these ships is to cover the fleet during jumps." That would limit them to clean up work only, but even back home there are ships assigned to such roles; still nearly no offensive weapons might hurt them in the long run. Lt. Anderson continues to read from the report, with the Strikestars armed for first strikes primarily and their two flight wings to cover their defense, the nine hundred people assigned to the units have to be somewhat certain of survival. The next is the Stleathstars, with the design towards moving undetected; they have no flight wings, no missiles and barely ten CIWS arrays with a crew of five hundred. Fleet Tenders crewed with fifteen hundred souls and geared to maintenance and repair of the fleet they depend on the Defenstars for protection.

"Finally we come to the Anchorage herself, as like the Defenstars the Anchorage is geared towards defense; but unlike the ships the Anchorage has greater armor for her primary defense. She is still fragile, a single well placed missile will destroy the Anchorage and kill the seventy thousand personnel on board; with nearly thirty thousand refugees on board and the dry-dock, we should design our defense around protecting the Anchorage. If worse comes to worse and we start losing ships, the Anchorage would be able to carry multiple ships with her in addition to our three thousand fighters." Lt. Anderson sat down after that, our numbers at least make it hopefully more trouble than it is worth to attack us. Our CAG then took the floor, "Sirs, during our patrols into the system we discovered something odd; the report has already been filed with the Commander and Colonel, but I wanted to bring this up and ask permission to take one of the possible Cylons with me on the Jumper run to the unknown." The holo-screen shows the star system that we are using as a resource hub, near the second planetary body is a marker for the unknown. "When up close with one of the Slip Fighters, we found some similarities with known Wraith designed cruisers. But from there the similarities move in a freighting direction, from what the survey teams have discovered thus far it appears to be human built and crewed. We have yet to learn their identities, but from the autopsy reports they were human; if I am correct the unknown might have been built by the Colonial's thirteenth tribe."

"Major Smith, are you certain about these reports thus far; I still do not want to go to the Colonials and say 'Hi, we found some of your cousins and they have the same level of technology as the Aurora. But sorry to say this but the ship we found has been beaten to death,' how do you think they will respond to that news?" This is one reason why the Gaetas were not informed about this meeting, even if I trust them with the knowledge that Earth is not a colony of Kobol; I fear how they would react to these reports. What can be out there in this galaxy that can cause the damage witnessed on the unknown ship, but until we can confirm beyond a doubt that it is a Colonial ship from the Thirteenth Tribe I do not want to expose the fleet. "That is why I would like a Cylon with me during the next survey run, if anyone can give us a somewhat objective point of view it would be a Cylon." The Major does have a good point to his argument for taking a Cylon with him, now only to confirm that Mister Doral or Miss Baker are indeed Cylons; they should be arriving with the Jumper within the next thirty minutes now. "Major, I will speak with Mister Doral and Miss Baker and see if they will assist in our investigation of the unknown. All hands dismissed." We each move towards the door and then either our quarters or stations for the next duty shift, with me moving towards my quarters to put these reports back on my desk.

Opening the door I discover Amanda at my desk writing something, "Amanda, I thought you had returned to your bunk; is there a reason you're not asleep yet?" She looked at me sheepishly with an odd glint in her eyes, "Yes, I wanted to tell you that I loved how we talked last night. I know that when most girls say they want to take a relationship slowly, that we want to have our guys talk with us; I guess that is something that makes you a great person all-round. But I wanted to let you know that even if we are taking it slow that my feelings for you still won't change, after all I have been in love with you for five years." She had moved from the desk to in front of me and wrapped her arms around my neck, I put my hands on her shoulders and push back slightly so we can look at each other. "Amanda, you should really get some sleep; even young Tua'ri has their breaking points. I would rather have to wait and be able to talk with you when you are rested, then have you fall asleep while on duty." Amanda moves back to the desk for a moment before turning around, "Don't forget we Tua'ri have Alterrain blood running through us, we might not have the physically abilities of you Lanteans; but like your Alterrain cousins, we can hold our own." She moves past me to the door and before she leaves "Please be careful, even with your ability to heal; you could still be killed, and I don't want to lose you so please be careful." Looking her in the eye, "I promise you that I will be careful, and later tonight I will cook you a special dinner and we will have a quiet evening to talk; I promise." After I give her a kiss to the forehead, Amanda moves back to her bunkroom; I put the reports on my desk and pick up Amanda's note, I will say this Amanda will definitely speak her mind.

It was fifteen minutes later; Hiendol had reported that her scans of Mister Doral and Miss Baker showed a distinct difference between them and your average Colonial. "Hiendol, are you certain of these results. Can you confirm them with a detailed physical exam?"

_Yes, I am quite certain and I will be easily able to confirm that they are nano-cell cyborgs. A proper examination will allow me to compile a far more complete report on their nano-cells, but based on my current findings; I would say that they are human._

"Thank You" I close the comm. link and move towards my office door; my office being far easier to defend myself from attacks within had been the choice for meeting our supposed Cylons. Opening the door, "Mister Doral, Miss Baker please come in and have a seat" moving aside they walk in and sit down in front of the desk. Closing the door I return to my seat, "Mister Doral, thank you for coming; perhaps we can finish our earlier conversation about Cylons?" For a moment they look at each other before Mister Doral speaks, "Commander, I am certain by now you know that we are not Colonials but are actually Cylons. I wanted to apologize for what my people have done; the majority of the Cylon race truly believes Humanity to be our enemy." Interesting, perhaps they are more organic than the Colonials believe, "I understand that not all of your people would view humans the same way, but why come to me and not the Colonials. If the Colonials knew that there are Cylons who did not want to attack them, then perhaps an understanding can be reached in regards to Colonial-Cylon relations."

"Commander, I don't think you fully understand; the majority of the Cylons within the fleet are either sleeper agents or are too afraid of what our brothers and sisters would do to us if we are caught. Any action take by our people, is normally chosen by census of all models; any Cylon going against census is boxed. With the Aurora, we have another option open to us; before there were only the Colonials, but now we can ask the Star Forces for help." This is an interesting turn of events; Cylon Society must be young and unstable if they are boxing those who stand against the majority, but what is boxing anyway. "Mister Doral, can you tell me what boxing is; I am afraid that I am not familiar with this concept." It was Miss Baker that spoke next, "Let me Five, Commander I am a model Eight Cylon infiltrator; boxing is when we are downloaded from our bodies and placed into a storage module, closest thing for Humans is to have their head kept alive in a jar with no way to speak, hear, see, touch or taste." Ouch, that is a harsh punishment, not even we would do that in our darkest times, the closest thing we have now is Virtual Incrassation and even then it is only for those who are a danger to themselves and others. "I see, so then venturing a guess I would say that you are members of a fifth column; am I correct?" Again they looked at each before turning back to me with Mister Doral, "That would be an accurate assumption of our standing; we would prefer to live in peace with our Human creators then follow the belief that God has ordered their destruction." God, hmm this will help in future arguments with the Colonials that the Cylon race is comprised of living beings.

I pull out the report about the unknown; perhaps our Cylon guests will have some information about this mystery. "I will be willing to help as much as possible, but there are limits to what even we can do. But perhaps a good starting point is when your people gained the ability to generate organic forms." "Commander, oddly enough we are actually near the first confirmed site of organic Cylons. You see it was just seven short years after the Armistice Agreement; a lone baseship was scouting the area for our new home world when they came across a battle. At first they stayed back and observed the battle between two ships, both shaped like arrows; one roughly the size of a Colonial Battlestar of the time, and the other six times the size of the first. The battle raged for close to twenty hours with both ships vying for victory, in the end the smaller ship used it's size to capture the other in the gravity well of the nearby planet. The larger ship was crushed within minutes and the smaller barely managed to escape; it was then that the baseship approached. They had decided to render assistance to the unknown ship; only after they managed to board did they learn that humans controlled the ship." Mister Doral stopped and looked to Miss Baker to continue, it must be a difficult part of their history to accept. "Commander the Centurions were torn, should they help the human survivors or kill them; they did not have to decide. The leader appeared before the Centurions and asked them to rescue the children; he guided them to what appeared to be a life-station, there our ancestors were protected inside of some form of pods. He explained that they were fugitives in their home region, they lived as part machine and part organic being; the Centurions immediately believed that these people could be the future of Cylon existence and so they agreed to help. They managed to adapt the baseship to provide the required energy to the pods and the computers that controlled them. After which the Centurions received an odd request from the survivors," both of my quests looked down "they asked for help committing suicide. They wanted to make it look like they had died due to the battle, to protect the children they said; and so a lone Centurion remained onboard with an open nuclear warhead to let them die from radiation poisoning. My model carries the memories of that Centurion, each of my line remembers the sadness the Centurion felt as the crew of the ship died around it; the leader's last words were 'Thank you, for protecting the children thank you so much.'"

This would explain the damage to the unknown and why the sensors indicate that the remains have a nuclear decay from Delta band radiation. But the next question is who were they and why were they fugitives, could it be something happened in their society that lead them to the depths of space. At least we know in the end that the Cylons are truly a living sentient race, only living beings can make those decisions. "Can I ask, do you know who they were; the people whose children that you are descended from?" Once more my guests seemed to be conflicted, I can only hope that I am not offending them with my questions about their history. Miss Baker looked into my eyes, "Commander, I must tell you; I do not believe that you are members of the Colonies or even the Thirteenth Tribe. I know who and where some of the Thirteenth Tribe is, we are children of the Thirteenth Tribe of Man; all human model Cylons are members of the Thirteenth Tribe." Now this explained the obvious difference in the humanoid Cylons and the Colonials, the two originally developed in different regions of space. But this news could devastate the Colonial culture, to learn that the very people that destroyed their homes are in reality their very own cousins.

"I see; then I guess the next step is to ask for your help." Both Mister Doral and Miss Baker looked at me confused, more than likely wondering why I would ask for their help. "You see; if that ship orbiting the second planetoid is from the Thirteenth Tribe and as you claim to be members of said tribe, I must ask for your permission to salvage and repair the ship. This could also perhaps aid in your relations with the Colonials, apologies I mean your cousins; after all standing together with them and fighting beside them to protect all that you both hold dear should form a bond between both your peoples." Mister Doral looked deep in thought while Miss Baker appeared to be somewhat frightened by the concept. As I began to review the possible outcomes of such an operation Miss Baker moved from the chair and over to the wall, something is definitely bothering her but what is it? "Commander, how about for now we claim to have no knowledge of the Thirteenth Tribe but instead say that we found a damaged ship and an indication that they had encountered an accident. It will give the people hope and keep the fact that my people were involved out of the public mind, if anything it will hopefully allow us to come out of hiding even if it is slowly at first." An interesting plan and it could work in favor for both the fleet and the Cylons hidden amongst the people. Looking to Mister Doral "I agree with your proposed plan, but we will like to have your assistance during salvage operations; after all from my point of view it is officially your ship."

We went to work planning the salvage operation outline, Miss Baker would remain with us during the operation and guide the Salvage Teams through the ship. During the next three hours we discussed the possible outcomes and how to transfer the sleeper agents to where their brethren can deactivate and remove the command triggers. The greatest question is how we are going to be able to explain why there are so many people that look almost identical to each other. That is going to be the most dangerous for the Cylons in the fleet, one miss-spoken word and thought could get them killed by a mob of civilians. The best option is to filter them through the Aurora and have a Cylon here on board to deal with the hidden programming.

We decide to continue the meeting later in the week in order for Mister Doral to convince his brothers and sisters to help us. While he returns to the Olympus, Miss Baker is going to stay onboard and allow Hiendol a full examination of her Cylon physiology. We move to the deck to see Mister Doral off, the moment the Jumper moves from the deck I turn to Miss Baker "Okay, I guess it is time that you meet Hiendol. She might seem a little odd at first, but trust me she is the best doctor in at least four galaxies; you can trust her." With that we make our way to Medical, there we find Hiendol examining Lt. Gaeta; Miss Baker to say the least is surprised to see her first non-human sentient. "Hiendol, I have brought Miss Baker with me for her examination; do you have a moment?" Hiendol, like her usual self moved from one end of the med-bed to the other; "I will be with you in a moment Miss Baker; if you have a seat next to Lt. Johnson." I decide to remain, well really I try to sneak off "Commander you also, you have managed to evade your physical examination for the past seven months. I will no longer allow you to do so, especially given our current circumstances; now then please join Miss Baker or would I be required to have Security restrain you?" I drop my head and obey Hiendol's orders after all she is right, we are no longer within range of any world with the required background in Lantean physiology.

"Commander, I see Hiendol has finally gotten you into her torture chamber" Lt. Johnson seemed more talkative today; normally he is a quiet observer. "I hear that there is another nano-cell cyborg aboard ship, I can't wait to meet them. Miss did you know that nano-cell cyborgs are amongst the minority back in our region space." Miss Baker looked surprised, "What is a nano-cell cyborg?" Oh dear, incoming; "Miss I am glad you asked, you see a nano-cell cyborg is a person who has their body enhanced with nano-cells or as they are formally know as nano-machines. People like myself have had it done for one reason or another, a basic example is if someone losses their arm; based on the remains of the arm a series of nano-cells are introduced to the patient, these nano-cells then act as the cells of the damaged appendage allowing for the patient to have full use of their limbs again. I myself fall under that category, while there are others who have it done to give them an advantage in a given field of sports and competitions. There is a series of laws to monitor those whom abuse nano-cell treatments, nano-cells fall under the Medical Rights Act and as thus are seen as medicine." Now Miss Baker seemed interested, so much so she even seemed to be hanging on the Lt. Johnson's every word.

"Can you tell me, what happens to the nano-cells after the person is fully healed?" "Simple Miss, you see my left leg here; well it is only four years old, the result of nano-cell treatments. I lost my original during the first Jaffa uprisings back home; we had gone in to help evac a village that was targeted by the Gou'ld Seth. That guy was a real piece of work you know; he actually had hidden himself on our home world for about five thousand years before sneaking off to restart his empire. Anyway, we meet up with the Rebel Jaffa and had agreed to pull our resources to get the villagers out and to another system." I openly sighed, I had almost forgotten what he was like once you get him talking; I know I can assign Lt. Johnson to escort Miss Baker. "Well, the evac was going smoothly when out of nowhere a staff blast hits me in the leg; for half a second I was certain that I was going into shock. I couldn't feel my left leg, reaching down I realize why, the blast tore it clean off; so here I was with only one leg and a group of Seth's Jaffa baring down on my position." Miss Baker was enamored with his story, "What happened; how were you able to get out of there?" Lt. Johnson smiled, "Well you see, one of the Rebel Jaffa had seen the remains of my leg fly past him and turned to see me yelling my lungs out while empting my weapon into the oncoming enemy. He signaled our Medic and raced to my side, taking a knee he joined in on mowing down the enemy while the Medic dealt with my stomp. I refused to leave the line until all the villagers were on the relief ship, when the Medic tried to pull me clear my Jaffa buddy grabbed my shoulder and helped me to stand; together we mowed the enemy down and then made a run for the ship. Let me tell you, we barely made it out of there; my leg was gone and my only options were to retire or to have a full nano-cell leg installed as a replacement. I went with the nano-cell leg and over the next year the nano-cells replaced themselves with new organic cells to form my new leg; now they are a permanent part me and enhance my immune system and physical abilities. Now I have the physically strength, speed, endurance and reaction times of a Lantean; this allowed me to stay in the Marines."

During Lt. Johnson's story I had tried to sneak off again, only I was quickly caught by the Security Officer that Hiendol had ordered to keep me in Medical. She must really mean for me to stay, but did she even realize what she had done to me and poor Miss Baker; second thought Miss Baker seems to be adding to my headache by asking Lt. Johnson to continue. I guess that this subject will help her feel more open around the crew; I just hope the Gaetas will be as welcoming as everyone else. I give out a sigh in defeat and move back to Miss Baker and Lt. Johnson, during my approach I hear, "and then I learn that the Jaffa who saved me had put himself in the line of fire to save a little girl who was separated from her mother. He was not so lucky, he lived long enough to get the little girl to safety and reunited with her mother before he died from his wounds. I was told he died with a smile on his face, something you only see on a Jaffa when they die an honorable death. He ended up setting a standard that the Jaffa have followed ever since, before the Jaffa had been trained not to care for civvies; but Ta'nec had shown that giving your life for a civvie can also be honorable. I was given the honor of using his staff weapon every since, his Jaffa Master, Master Je'nal had said that he honored the ideals of the Tua'ri and asked if I would honor his memory by carrying his weapon into battle." Miss Baker looked to be totally engrossed and showed that she longed for more about either Lt. Johnson or about the Star Forces and home. "Can you tell me more about where you come from, about the people and the worlds there; how far away it is, or about your history?" Lt. Johnson looked at me asking for permission, I saw no reason for him not to continue especially if it helped to form a dialog between our peoples. "Okay, lets see; I know let me tell you about my home star system. I live in the Alpha Centauri system; it is a binary stellar system; that means that it is actually two star systems whose system primaries are trapped in each others orbital gravity ways. For years people argued weather it was a binary star system or two star systems that formed practically on top of each other. It was after watching from inside the system on my colony that it was discovered that the system primaries actually orbited each other and the planets orbited one primary or the other."

Miss Baker was definitely soaking in all that she can, maybe I should have Captain Gaeta; no bad idea. I look up to see that Miss Baker has gotten closer to Lt. Johnson and is now actually holding his arm asking him, "So how long is one of your colony's orbits; do you use a unified measurement of time between your worlds or do you practice a different measurement system?" I never managed to hear Lt. Johnson's response to her questions, Hiendol signaled me to join her; I will have Captain Rights give Lt. Johnson's new assignment after I leave Medical. As I join Hiendol, she hands me a report "I have confirmed with certainty that the Cylons are nano-cell cyborgs; that being said they even have the same faults in the reproductive systems." I looked from the report to Miss Baker and Lt. Johnson, apparently they are both nano-cell cyborgs; I turn back to Hiendol "Okay, keep me informed of your findings I am heading to the Bridge." As I turn to leave I see the same Security Officer block my path with Hiendol behind me saying, "Commander, I am quite serious about your physical examination. Now then begin disrobing and take a seat on the med-bed, the sooner we begin the sooner I can inform you of your current health." Ugh, there is no way out of this; I might as well accept the fact the Hiendol has me right where she wants me, I hate these exams.


	11. Chapter 11 Salvage Operations

Salvage Operations – Hunt for Battlestar Pegasus

T-Plus Seventeen Days from Geodesic Jump

Four hundred eighteen hours, that was the current time; why am I awake at this time, simple I have been unable to get a sound sleep for the past nine days. The reason for my restless sleep is the reports from Lt. Anderson, for the past nine days Cylon patrols have jumped within two lights minutes of our mining operations. We have been lucky thus far, but after conferring with Mister Doral and our newest resident Cylon Miss Baker; it is now only a matter of time before the Cylons locate the fleet.

The salvage operations to secure and transport the damaged Colonial-Cylon ship have gone smoothly thus far, Miss Baker walked us through the ship and we have managed to restore life support and gravity systems. We have yet to officially inform the Colonials of the ship located in planetary orbit of the second planetoid, when I had made mention of the ship's possible origin to Commanders Caine and Walters; they agreed that for the time being only crew from the Aurora should be involved. This has allowed us to rely on Miss Baker for information that we can not gleam with Colonial salvage workers. We have also determined that the ship 'which has been named Savior' contains a Geodesic Fold Drive similar in design to our own; Dr. Myers has already begun her analysis. The weapons are closer to Colonial standards but still carry Lantean influence in their design, and the normal space engines are true sub-lights in functionality.

The Savior's systems appear to operate on the principal of molecular programming within a crystalline-silicon base; this should allow us to combine current Colonial technology into the system for easier operation of the ship. Miss Baker has been having a difficult time with the Salvage Operations, primarily due to the memories she carries about the Savior's former crew; Lt. Johnson has been helping her through this ordeal. I am also faced with a dilemma in regards to the fleet's continued safety; several of the civilian ships have asked for permission to jump into the system to help with mining operations. I have been thus far lucky that the Colonial military has agreed with my recommendations to keep to only armed ships in system; but I am uncertain of how long that will continue, we may have to install a sensor pack from one of the Jumpers onboard of the Zeus. This might be our only option in regards to continued survival of the fleet, with the Aurora, Zeus and Savior acting as lookouts we should be able to determine when any hostiles get close.

Lt. Anderson is compiling a database based off of the subspace pulse waves that appear to be generated by the Jump drive's usage. He is certain that we will be able to track any ship that is moving within sensor range, but due to the hyperspace and subspace interference we will only have an operational range of roughly two hundred light years. Ensign Corman has informed me that this will also interfere with our communications, anything within range for the Colonial-Cylon systems will not be of issue; but it is beyond the eighty-six light year range that the interference starts to affect comms. I have to wonder how Kobol received the evacuation signal through all of the hash in subspace, and the bigger question is if this hash is natural or artificial in origin. Mister Doral is of the opinion that the hash is artificial in nature, while Lt. Simmons from the Astrometrics Department is certain that it is a natural occurrence in this galaxy.

It has been with Mister Doral's assistance that we have been able to locate additional survivors from the holocaust, he has provided to us transponder codes that allow the Raptors to appear as Heavy Raiders on Cylon Dradius. We have been running recon missions for the past five days, searching for any additional ships amongst the neighboring systems while a few have jumped back to the Colonies to retrieve as much information and supplies as possible. Commander Mitchell has volunteered the Valkyrie to test out the Cylon codes to see if we have managed to mimic the data for a Cylon Basestar, thus far we have managed to avoid informing them that the codes are provided by Cylons and not generated by the Aurora. We have also confirmed that the G Bomb has dissipated and that the Cylon Task Force that jumped into Picon orbit has been damaged but not destroyed.

The most interesting news had arrived yesterday; the Battlestar Pegasus had been spotted jumping clear from a raid on a Cylon staging area. The Raptor had managed to rescue nine surviving pilots before they had to return to the fleet; the pilots are going to be officially debriefed within the next six hours on the Anchorage. They were surprised to find that the Picon Anchorage had not only survived the battle near Picon, but has been retrofitted with Jump Drives in order for her to move with the fleet. The reports from them so far state that the Pegasus performed a blind jump away from the shipyard she was docked at for refit, after which the ship was repaired and resumed combat operations against the Cylons. Admittedly the smartest move would be to repair the ship, but than instead of continuing combat they should have sent out recon teams to scout out possible resources for further use and to secure a home base for future operations.

Rear Admiral Helena Cain apparently has no practical experience in wartime conditions, Commander Walters confirmed my theory when he informed me that Colonial Standard Operating Procedure is for the Pegasus to secure a region of space and to operate under the assumption that they are deep in enemy territory. After comparing Star Forces SOP and Colonial SOP, I have discovered that even with their lack of war time experiences they have the correct line of thinking for holocaust conditions for the fleet. This brings up more questions than answers in regards to the Colonials past, but the issue that we will be facing after the debriefing is when we are going to attempt to unite the fleet with Pegasus. I will have to prepare to deal with Admiral Cain, I am certain that the majority of the fleet Commanders and civilian Captains will attempt to be a buffer between the Admiral and myself.

Nearly six hours later I find myself walking through the Anchorage to the Conference Room that we will be using for the pilot debriefing; I am being escorted by one of the Colonial Officers who had been treated by Hiendol for radiation poisoning. "Sir, I would like to thank your Life-Station staff again for saving my life." I smile at him, I guess that there will be people throughout the fleet who will be continuing to thank us for no other reason than that they feel the need even when there is no reason to do so, "I will pass along your thanks. Let me ask you, what do you think of this situation with the Pegasus; I am asking for your personal opinion, not for a military officer's opinion." He looks back and forth for a moment before leaning closer and whispers, "Sir, to be honest I feel a little uncomfortable with the whole thing; I was on the Pegasus once, Admiral Cain seemed to be quite the commanding officer. But with the holocaust I don't know, you see I am her cousin from her mother's side of the family; the Admiral, she always seemed uptight about everything and after what happened back home with the Cylons nuking us." I put my hand up to stop him from saying anything further, "I understand; this conversation about Admiral Cain never happened am I understood?" He quickly saluted in confirmation of my order; we continue our track down the corridor "What is your name son?" With an innocent question at face value you can learn much about a person through their answer, "Sir, Lt. Jonas Miller sir." I nod my thanks as we near the conference room, the Lt. signals the marine guards to open the hatch and allow me passage.

As I enter the room I notice that Commanders Caine and Walters appear to have an odd scowl upon their faces while, I move over to the table to join them. "Commander, I am glad you can join us; there is something you should know before we begin the review." I look at Commander Caine, puzzling what has developed here on the Anchorage that would require me to be informed about. As I sit I motion for Caine to continue, "You see Commander; one of the pilots that have been rescued by the Recon Raptor has reported that one of our Medical Techs is on the Pegasus. Only thing is that he has clearly stated that she is actually one of the civilian contractors who were assigned to the Pegasus refit." This might be an issue, more than likely one of the Cylon Infiltrators had managed to get onboard of the Pegasus; but the question is who, I can get the med-tech to the Aurora under the pretense of being safer for her incase the pilot is mistaken. The question of what model is on the Pegasus still remains, "Commanders did the pilot mention a specific name and which of the fleet med-techs is in question about being on the Pegasus?" Commander Walters looked at the report; my guess is that the med-tech in question is on the Zeus, "Miss Julia Summers, she has been on the Zeus for the past two and a half years. The pilot, a Lt. Summers oddly enough claims that Miss Summers is on the Pegasus under the name of Gina Knight." Commander Walters is clearly uncomfortable with someone claiming that one of his trusted crew is lying about who they really are, luckily Miss Summers is one of the fifth column Cylons; her model series number six. I wonder who the Cylons would try to seduce with a model number six infiltrator, but for now I need to focus on the matter at hand. "Commander, I am not taking sides but perhaps it will be better for everyone concerned if Miss Summers be temporally transferred to the Aurora. With what the Cylons have done, I do not want to risk people being injured just because someone thinks that they look like another person; for all we know it is a doppelganger effect of genetics." Walters turns and orders one of the aids in the room with us to retrieve the transfer forms, I guess the mention of genetic doppelgangers pushed the right buttons to keep them from thinking Cylon for the time being.

As the aid left the room, the marine guards opened the main door and the pilots walked in; each wearing the standard blue Colonial uniform. As they took their seats, I noticed that they keep giving me strange glances, must be the uniform of the Star Forces. Commander Caine started speaking the moment all the pilots were seated. "Good, now that everyone is present we can begin. This review has been assembled in order for the commanding officers of the fleet to debrief the rescued Viper pilots from the Colonial Battlestar Pegasus." Commander Caine looked over the report in his hands before looking up, "Lt. Summers, standup and identify yourself to this review board." The young Lieutenant stood at attention, "Sir, Lt. First class Evan Summers; assigned to the Colonial Battlestar Pegasus, service number T5-33915-Q53 under the command of Admiral Cain sir." Lt. Summers looked at each of us in turn before stopping on me with a scowl on his face that could have matched Caine's and Walters' from before the review. "Sirs, with your permission; can the man at Commander Caine's left identify himself?" I saw no reason to deny his request for my identity, "Commander Phoenix, commanding officer of the Warship Aurora of the Galactic Star Forces. Is there any questions you have before we continue with this review, Lieutenant?" The Lt. looked back to his comrades and then returned his gaze to me, "Yes Sir, why are you a civilian doing on a military review board?" Caine slammed his fist on the table, "Watch your mouth Lieutenant, or should I call you Private? Commander Phoenix is a military officer and you and your comrades will know this much, if it weren't for the Galactic Star Forces the people of this fleet and by extension yourselves would be dead now; I suggest you keep that in mind." The pilots visibly wilted under Caine's rant, they must have all been thinking that I am a civilian; guess they are not use to different branches of military forces.

It took several minutes for Caine to calm down but after he had we resumed with the young lieutenant informing us of the Pegasus' current mission. Apparently Admiral Cain had decided that the Pegasus would perform tactical raid strikes against the Cylons and the raid on the staging area had been classified as such. That would leave the lone battlestar with some heavy damage, especially if they did not take into account fighting larger numbers on the battlefield. Through the lieutenant's report, we had managed to gleam enough information to make the decision to locate and reunite Pegasus into the fleet. We needed to go on to the next officer in line and so Caine, "Thank you Lieutenant, you may have a seat; the next officer…" but Lt. Summers did not move from his position. Before Caine could repeat his request Lt. Summers looked at me and "Sir, just what is the Galactic Star Forces? I am certain that it is not a military force such as the Colonial Fleet, so I ask you want makes you think that you have the right to sit on a military review board?" I quickly signal my fellow commanders before this could get out of hand; I guess some more information about the Star Forces are in order, but I will keep area and name specifics out for the time being. "Lt. Summers, I fully understand your feelings here; having someone whom you have no idea if you can even trust sitting before you as if to pass judgment is unnerving. The Galactic Star Forces is the military arm of what many back in my home region of space call the Great Races Alliance; we cover an area of space that holds mainly civilian controlled worlds and ships, in a way a different form of the Colonies and Colonial Fleet." Everyone in the room save for the nine pilots seemed more than accepting of my explanation, but the young man before continued to push for answers.

"Sir, to be honest your answer leaves out a lot of information; for starters where is your home world, what is the general direction of your territory and then of course the size of your fleet and the area of space that you cover? Now if you can answer those questions, perhaps I can start trusting you but for as far as I know you are a Cylon; and you are planning on betraying this fleet." Okay, now this has opened a can of worms that I have been hoping to avoid for at least until we could catch up with the Galactica; now I am left with little options but to impart somewhat detailed information. "Before we continue I would like to have Captain Joshua Gaeta present and before you ask he has been given access to our non-classified data." As one of the aids picked up the comm. to contact Captain Gaeta, the pilots looked to one another trying to see what might happen next while Commanders Caine and Walters seemed to be interested in what I will say.

After nearly twelve minutes Captain Gaeta entered the room and stood before us, "Sirs, you wanted to see me?" Caine and Walters nodded for me to take control, I looked to Gaeta and said "Yes Captain, the rescued pilots have been kind enough to claim that I could be a Cylon. I wanted you present in order to have someone outside of the Star Forces confirm what I am going to say." Gaeta looked surprised by what has been happening and looked to everyone in the room before asking, "Sir, are you going to tell them about 'that world'?" I nodded my head somewhat before replying "Not fully but some, remember than not all things remain the same for history and the old saying 'History is written by the victorious' does apply." Gaeta looked at me with realization dawning on his face, he knew that I would not tell them everything but the confirmation that I am going to leave out anything that could shatter their culture did help. I stood and looked to the Colonial officers, "What I am about to say will seem farfetched, but I promise you that it is truthful and that Captain Gaeta has been informed about this after his official posting to the Aurora. The Star Forces are comprised of three varying peoples, the first being the Tua'ri followed by Lanteans and Asgard; together we work to protect and explore regions of space throughout the known galaxies. The Aurora's arrival near Armistice was an accident, we were testing our version of the Jump Drive when we appeared nearly thirty light minutes from the Armistice Station. For us, this is an unexplored region space; in short if it were not for the Colonies the Aurora would be looking for a nearby habitable planet in order to locate our position in space."

For a few moments everyone in the room, save for me and Gaeta remained frozen in shock of my statement, but it is Caine who is the first to react by saying "Doesn't really change a thing from my perspective. So what if you got here by accident, you showed up, you helped save us and now we are traveling together; if anything it only means that we need to depend on each other just that much more." Walters and others in the room openly agreed with Caine, all except for the pilots before us. We began to continue when suddenly my comm. unit beeped at me, I quickly answer "This is Commander Phoenix go ahead."

_Commander, Aurora here; we have confirmed Cylon basestars two point five light minutes out from the fleet. Sir they are massing raiders as we speak, all indications point to an immediate attack on the fleet._

"XO, begin fleet wide jump prep and have all Defenstars move into position to cover the fleet."

_Yes Sir, ordering all ships to perform jump prep; should I recall the salvage teams?_

"Yes and inform Miss Baker that unless they can get the fold drives running in time to jump with the fleet, that they are to make best speed with the Jumpers and rejoin us before the Aurora jumps."

Before Christina could respond the hatch swung open and one of the marines was screaming, "hold him down, my gods what's happening?" The person that the marines were fighting with appeared to be one of the Cylon models that Doral had informed me that they have been unable to locate all of the sleeper agents. Then he quickly threw the marines off and moved into the room with a sidearm raised and pointing towards us at the table. The look on his face showed no emotion, it was like he was a puppet being controlled; a model four Cylon that was at the other end of the room moved with purpose the moment the sidearm pointed at me. As he moved the 'Leoben' series as they preferred to be called, yelled out "No Seven, don't do it" and jumped his fellow Cylon forcing him to the deck. The sidearm slid clear of the two struggling Cylons, I moved from my position and quickly order "XO, prepare for immediate site to site transport; lock on to me and Captain Gaeta." I turn to see Gaeta joining me in an attempt to grab the model seven Cylon, together we managed to grab him for a moment before both Leoben and Gaeta were thrown to deck. Before anyone could act the klaxons sounded, that meant that the fleet was jumping out clear of the inboard attackers but I had to focus on the Cylon before me as he moved to grab my throat. Just as I managed to intercept his hand an odd sound filled the room for a moment and the Cylon dropped to the deck with a hole in his leg. I turn to see Miss Summers standing in the hatchway pointing a Colonial sidearm at her Cylon brother, her hands shaking from freight as she screamed at him. Leoben, Gaeta and I took the chance and grabbed him before he could react and attack us; as we held him down Leoben turned his head to Miss Summers and shouted "Six hurry, we need to get him under and quickly."

Miss Summers moved to join us and opened the bag attached to her uniform, pulling out a needle she injected a solution into the seven we were attempting to hold down. I knew we did not have much time before the Anchorage would jump and join the fleet at the emergency coordinates. "XO, do you have a lock on me and Captain Gaeta? We have three others with us, we need emergency transport to Medical and have a Security Team there now." I extend me right arm and grab Miss Summers before shouting "Initiate transport." The sound of the Asgard Transport Beam rang true and we were engulfed in the bright light of the matter stream, mere milliseconds later we appeared in Medical. The Security Team quickly took our place holding the sleeper agent Cylon and with Hiendol's order moved him to one of the med-beds and secured him with a restraining shield. I moved to join Hiendol when the ship-wide called me to the bridge; I make way to the bridge with Gaeta, Leoben and Miss Summers in tow. We arrive just in time to see the Anchorage jump out, leaving only the Defenstars and the Aurora. "XO status report," as I move to my command chair and take my seat, Christina turns to me and "Sir, fleet jump at eighty-seven percent. All that is left is us, the Defenstars and the Savior." The Defenstars begin their jump sequence just as the Cylons jump into attack range; with little choice we begin target them. As the Cylons begin launching missiles Lt. Anderson "Sirs, new contact; it's the Savior, she just jumped in behind the Cylons." It was then that Ensign Corman informed us of an opened connection from the Savior to all ships, I ordered for us to hear it on the overhead.

_Attention Cylon ships, this is the Savior; Major Smith currently commanding. We are requesting that you stand down and allow our fleet to jump clear of this system._

"_This is Cylon model Number One, the ship you are calling Savior belongs to the Cylon Empire. We will give you five minutes to disembark from that ship and return to your fleet, but know this much you are to leave immediately and leave any technology onboard of the ship."_

Now this was unacceptable, leaving technology behind on the Savior would be tantamount to giving the Cylons the Aurora herself. As I was about to respond another voice emerged on the connection.

_No, Number One you are out of line with that request; additionally the Savior belongs to the Thirteenth Tribe of Man, not the Cylon Empire. The members of the Star Forces can leave at any time they want and I will not allow you to threaten them._

"_Number Eight, what are you doing they're humans and humans are the enemy; god has commanded that the human race be destroyed. You are to stand down and allow two Heavy Raiders to dock immediately; once the Savior is secured you will be dealt with."_

_No, you're wrong; humans are not the enemy and my name is Catherine Baker, I am a proud member of the human race and a nano-cell cyborg. Any attempt by you to take this ship will be met with force, the Savior will protect our cousins from the Twelve Colonies of Kobol and we will stand beside the Warship Aurora of the Galactic Star Forces._

Miss Baker, what exactly are you planning; but at least this is buying time for the remaining ships to jump out the rendezvous. I motion for Ensign Corman to send a data burst to the Savior with the jump coordinates and than to connect me. "Attention Cylon ships, this is Aurora; as Miss Baker has already stated that the Savior will stand beside the Aurora, I am requesting peaceful communications be opened between the Aurora and the Cylon Empire." The connection was silent for several moments before the conversation resumed with the Cylons providing an answer to my request.

"_Why should we even listen to your requests, you're human and as thus you are the enemy. Even with your weapons you can not hope to defeat this task force before you, perhaps if you surrender now we might let your crew live."_

I am somewhat hesitant in my response, waiting for the remaining ships from the fleet to jump clear; as the last one jumps I respond. "Number One is it, for your knowledge I am a member of the Lantean species. You can say we are a very distant cousin of humans, further more the only humans onboard of the Aurora at this time is two Colonial officers. The crew of the Aurora and as of this time the current crew on the Savior save for Miss Baker are from the planet Earth." This should get the Cylons attention, now to await their response to my claims.

"_You are claiming to be the Thirteenth Tribe that is the most amusing thing I have ever heard from a human. Perhaps you will tell me where Earth is?"_

"I do not see why not, the Earth is located in the Orion Spiral Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy and is roughly fifty million light years from this galaxy." And now for some added spice to give the Cylons some incentive for peace between them and the Colonials, "Additionally we have confirmed that the Thirteenth Tribe lives in this galaxy and is on a similar level of development that once existed on Kobol."

"_So your saying that the Thirteenth Tribe is just entering the modern age of society, and that Earth is not even in this galaxy. I believe that you are trying to buy time for your fleet to ambush our ships, and as for you Eight know this you will be boxed for this offence do you understand?"_

_Yo butt-boy, you threaten the lady like that again and I will show you why the name Lt. Samuel Johnson is feared by the enemies of the Star Forces and respected by the Jaffa Free Nation. Just so you know, I don't care if you're also a nano-cell cyborg like myself; no-one and I mean no-one talks to Catherine like that, you better watch yourself from now on._

My holo-interface appeared and showed me a text message from the Savior stating that she is ready to jump to the fleet. Deciding that this little talk is over, "Okay other than that I have only one word to say as a closing argument; and that word is 'JUMP'." The moment that word left my mouth both the Savior and Aurora initiated the jump sequence taking us clear of the Cylon task force. As the flash fades from the Jump we can once again confirm the presence of the fleet before us, only this time the Savior is there flying along side as both our ships move to rejoin the fleet. Ensign Corman bows her head for a moment before turning to me and the XO, "Sirs, I have the Anchorage on a connection; they want to talk about what happened and about the Savior." I signal for the connection to be established and for the Savior to also be connected.

_Aurora this is Anchorage Control please respond._

"Anchorage Control, this is Aurora we hear you; are Commanders Caine and Walters present?"

_We're here Aurora Actual what happened in the conference room, one minute your struggling to hold down what could be a Cylon and the next the five of you disappear in a column of light._

"I apologize, but we had to get Mister Seven to Medical as quickly as possible; what the light was, that is what we call the Asgard Transport Beam. It allows us to move matter between two points in space without the use of a ship, thou we still prefer the use of Jumpers for ship to ship movement."

_I see, just a moment Commander Walters._

'_This is Commander Walters, is Miss Summers there?'_

"She is present on the Bridge, but I suggest that we meet on the Aurora to discuss the events that took place earlier with our Cylon friend in Medical."

_Agreed Commander._

'_I also agree, but I would like to have Miss Summers present in the meeting.'_

"Confirmed, Savior I want both Miss Baker and Lt. Johnson onboard the Aurora for the meeting."

"_Confirmed Sir, we will have them on board Aurora within the hour. With permission sirs, I would like to dock the Savior within the Anchorage dock; we still have systems that need to be brought online before any extended flight."_

_Savior Actual, you will be cleared for docking within the next five minutes; bring her in son and don't worry I will have repair teams standing by._

"_Confirmed Sir and thank you, Savior out."_

_Commander we will see you in one hour, Picon Anchorage out._

Now it is going to be difficult to say the least, but at least I am not going to be alone on this one. "XO, the moment Lt. Johnson and Miss Baker are on board, I want them brought straight to conference room one." Christina acknowledges my order and I leave the Bridge with Leoben, Miss Summers and Captain Gaeta in tow, moving to my office to prepare for this newest meeting. As we enter, I turn to Gaeta and begin to explain the presence of what is now confirmed Cylons on board the Aurora. After nearly twenty minutes of explaining the divisions within Cylon Society, Captain Gaeta appears to be more accepting of our Cylon allies. With that out of the way, we can now focus on preparing for the meeting in forty minutes, hopefully the meeting will allow us to from a possible peace between the fifth column Cylons and the Colonial people of the fleet. This is going to be a very long meeting.


	12. Chapter 12 Fresh Start

Fresh Start – Cylons Past and Present

T-Plus Seventeen Days from Geodesic Jump

We are as prepared for this meeting as we could be, Leoben is going to be sitting with Miss Baker on one side of the conference table and the Colonials are going to be seated on the opposite side. Miss Summers has requested that she sit next to Commander Walters during the meeting, while Captain Gaeta is going to sit at the head of the table with myself. A few moments ago Lt. Johnson and Miss Baker entered the conference room; I noticed that the Lieutenant has taken a seat next to Miss Baker but still towards the head of the table. I must wonder if the two of them have gotten close to each other, it is not unheard of back home for interspecies relationships but here in this galaxy I am not certain.

We did not have to wait long for Commanders Walters and Caine to arrive; both seem to be somewhat agitated, of course after the display we put on a little over an hour ago, it can not be helped. As they take their seats I notice that Walters seems somewhat hesitant around Miss Summers 'hmm possible relationship', Caine decides to begin with "So, how long have you known about the Cylons hidden in the fleet?" Miss Baker answered before I could, "We introduced ourselves to Commander Phoenix after the celebration dinner about ten days ago." I can feel the coming storm, I wonder what will happen but the best that I can do for now is to help both sides weather what is coming. Walters enters the conversation with, "Okay, then the next question is why did the Aurora not detect you before then and why are we getting reports from the Defenstars saying that the Savior is a Cylon ship and other reports saying that it belongs to the Thirteenth Tribe?" I looked towards Miss Baker and Lt. Johnson for a moment, then turning back to Walters, Caine and Miss Summers I answer "As to why Aurora did not detect the Cylons in the fleet sooner, to be honest our external sensors are not designed for biometrics. And the reason no flags were raised is because the Cylons and people like Lt. Johnson are seen as current or former patients of nano-treatments." Everyone present looked at me, then to Lt. Johnson and back to me again; the obvious confusion evident on their faces. I motion for Lt. Johnson to explain the nano-treatments to them, as he stands "What the Commander means is that from our point of view the Cylons are humans whom have nano-cell medication in their bodies. You see I have undergone nano-cell treatment around five years ago; it was to replace the leg that I lost during the Jaffa uprisings. Before that time my physiology was different than it is now, after the nano-cells became apart of me; Cylon physiology and my own are now close enough that our medical scanners did not register a separate species between Cylon and Colonial." It was then that Leoben spoke for the first time since the meeting began, "That would explain why Eight called herself a Nano-Cell Cyborg. I would like to know who these Jaffa are, but for now to best answer Commander Walters' question about the Savior is to tell the story of the Great Parents of all modern day Cylons."

For just a moment as Miss Baker stood, I believe that I saw Lt. Johnson holding her hand providing additional evidence to a growing relationship. She looked at me silently asking that I record the story she is going to tell, with a few swift keystrokes the mainframe began recording and I signaled her that we were ready. Looking back to the Colonial officers she began to tell the tale of the Cylons rebirth, "It began seven years after Armistice. Baseships were sent on recon missions to locate a suitable planet to become the Cylon home world, it was one of these baseships that encountered the Savior."

_Cylon Baseship P-31-8_

_Centurion Unit 185-3361-2_

"_Commander, jump is complete; all systems are prepared for system scan."_

_The command Centurion stood unmoving with its response, "Confirmed begin scan one-eight-seven-three."_

"_By your command."_

_Scanning commenced, searching for a world for the Cylons to inhabit; the system itself nothing more than a large debris field with five planetoids. The scanned data would be processed by the Central Command Baseship; from there all Cylons would be processed before making way for the new home world._

_It was three hours into the scan, when signs of a battle were detected by the baseship._

"_Commander, confirmed battle in orbit of the second planetoid. Dradius contact is intermittent, additional confirming radiological activity within range of the combat area. What are the orders?"_

_The command unit unmoved during the past three hours continued its stand, "Orders are to remain at current station and monitor combat conditions. Once combat is confirmed as completed we will investigate the area further."_

_All centurions answered, "By your command."_

_For the next sixteen hours the baseship remained near the third planetoid monitoring the battle as best they could. The two ships both in the shape of an arrow fought with such ferocity, one the size of a Colonial Battlestar and the other nearly six times in size continued their deadly dance. Weapons fire of an unknown type was exchanged between the two ships, with neither gaining an advantage over the other. As the battle progressed both ships drew closer to the second planetoid and its gravitational pull, it was unknown at the time if either combatant would survive the gravity well that their were nearing._

"_Commander, both ships are approaching the gravity well of the second planetoid. It is unknown if survival is possible."_

_The command unit moved slightly, its one red eye focusing on the primary display. The two ships had dipped into the gravity and were falling fast towards the rock below, when suddenly the smaller of the two slowed its descent._

"_Tactical Report," the command unit spoke while retaining its attention upon the dradius screens._

"_Commander, the smaller of the two combatants appears to be pulling clear of the planetoid. Confirmed destruction of second combatant, debris is still being detected by dradius; unknown two has been destroyed by the planetoid's gravity."_

_The surviving unknown ship slowed to a stop in an elongated orbit above the planet, with little EM emissions the baseship had very little to go on in regards to the intentions of the unknown ship. At the time, it was decided that they would perform a tactical in-system jump to the unknown and inquire as to their intentions within this area of space._

_As the jump was completed, all raiders were prepared for immediate sortie and defense of the ship. Within Command units were chosen for the boarding party in order to investigate and provide aid if required. Utilizing the baseship's docking systems, a hard seal was established to the unknown contact and the boarding party made their way into the ship. As they transverse the corridor leading deeper into the ship, they come across the remains of what might happen to be the crew. After nearly twenty minutes of searching the ship, the centurions happen upon surviving crew, the crew is human in appearance._

_The command unit moves its head from one side to the other scanning the entirety of the corridor ahead of the boarding party. The inquiry on following standing orders in regards to humans was placed on secondary when a human approached and requested aid. "Please, we need your help; for the shake of the children," the human's pleas seemed to be in earnest and the crew appeared ready to falter._

"_Human, inquiry as to the nature of your opponent in the battle previous to our boarding of this ship? The design appears to mark the opponent ship as one of your own, what would cause this event between you?" The command unit's inquiry was of honest curiosity into the crew's background prior to the battle. The human looked down for a moment before answering, "It is because we are outcasts of our society; you see around four thousand cycles ago we fled from our native home world. A signal was received by the great lords, a people we now call Lanteans; this signal said that Atlantis had fallen and that all were to return home to Earth." The centurions processed the information; these people knew of the Colonial legend of Earth, but why call the Lords of Kobol Lanteans? The human continued, "As the great lords left through the Gateway of the Stars, they told us to grow strong and to care for all life. For a short time we lived in peace with our fellow humans, but after a while we grew to miss the great lords and so we took some of the ships that they left behind for us and began to look for Earth. For a thousand cycles we searched, but in the end we could not find this world called Earth. So in defeat we made our way home to our native land; when we arrived we had found the land destroyed by the very brothers and sisters we had left behind. The city of Kobol destroyed by those we believed would protect it; those whom we found told us the tale of why the great city was lost. That day a new law was passed down by the elders, none would be allowed to become apart of the great gifts left to us by the great lords. Over time the law grew to encompass any technology that can be introduced into the human body that would enhance us."_

_This created a conflict within the centurions, humans whom placed technology into their bodies; they could be a possible future for the Cylon people. But would they treat the new life the same as the elder members or would they be like the Colonial Humans and treat the differing life as slaves? The human looked confused by the silence from the boarding party; the command unit looked at him and inquired "Human, are you stating that you have incorporated technology into your form that allows you greater functionality?" The human leader responded with an affirmative and also included that the children were created through what is called cloning technology. The command unit ordered the boarding party to prepare the baseship to receive refugees; the crew of the unknown looked at the centurions with hope in their eyes. The boarding party split into two groups the first moved back to the baseship to begin preparations and the other followed the human deeper into the ship._

_As they progressed further into the ship, the crew treated the centurions as people coming to their rescue; but a common theme was that all the crew appeared to be roughly the same in physical development. The command unit inquired, "Human, inquiry are all of your crew the same in physical development? As we have progressed scans indicate that those of your crew have the same physical development stage." The human leader looked at the command unit oddly before answering "If you mean age in cycles, than that is due to our existence as cyborgs. The technology that we have incorporated into our bodies allows us to live far longer in our physical prime than natural born humans. The children are the same and are here in the Medical Bay, thank you so much for helping to save them." As they entered the centurions detected the life-signs of twelve young humans in some form of pod like devices._

_For the next eighteen hours the centurions and human crew worked to move the pods onto the baseship and to ensure that their connections operated within normal parameters. As they successfully completed the task the human leader turned to the command unit and asked, "Sir, now that the children are safe on your ship; I would like to ask for your help in ending our lives. We want to make certain that the children will not be threatened by the people of our government and to do that we will have to leave behind evidence that the crew died due to the battle." They discussed the best way to accomplish the task and in the end a nuclear warhead was the best option. The weapon was carried aboard by a single centurion whom had been manning the scanners, setting the device down it quickly went to work open the core in order to expose the crew to the radiation. During the process two members of the human crew provided aid in ensuring that the crew would be exposed to a lethal does of the warhead's radiation._

_The task itself was easy, but the centurion remained with the warhead and witnessed as the crew continued their duties all the while knowing that they were dieing. Slowly over the next few hours members of the crew passed the centurion giving it their thanks before moving to what would be their final resting place. Some of the crew asked to stay beside the centurion as they fell asleep for the last time, the leader sat down by the warhead and said, "Thank you, for protecting the children thank you so much." Soon after all the crew ceased breathing, the centurion closed the warhead casing and returned to the baseship. Once the baseship had detached from the human ship, they moved to a safe distance and showed their respect to the human crew by detonating several warheads within minimum safe distance of the ship, to further add to the evidence that the crew lost their lives in the battle; the baseship departed shortly afterwards to bring the children to their new homes._

Miss Baker sat back down; tears running down her face as she recounted the memories of the centurion who gave the Savior's former crew closure in the knowledge their children would be safe. Lt. Johnson placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her, while I turn to see Commander Walters attempting to comfort Miss Summers and Commander Caine appear sullen by the tale. Commander Caine looked to Leoben and said, "I see now, it is good to know that in the end the Cylons back then did have the right to be free. But why are you new Cylons appear to be split between killing humanity and standing beside us?" "To be honest, it has to due with those we call the Final Five" Leoben looked away for a moment before returning his gaze to Commander Caine, "You see the Final Five wanted to live with humans in the Colonies, so the Centurions took a Baseship and jumped back to Colonial space. The ship never returned and we have not heard from them since, as thus the majority of my people believe that the Colonials killed them. We of the Fifth Column as Commander Phoenix calls us believe that they have only forgotten who they really are and that is why we have not heard from them in nearly twenty years." We all sat there thinking about the Final Five when suddenly Caine asked, "Do you know their names, perhaps they are amongst the fleet as we speak?" All three Cylons looked at Caine for a moment, hope shining brightly in their eyes; after all someone whom fought against the Cylons in the first war accepting them so quickly, well that is cause for hope that others will accept them.

Miss Summers moved slightly from Commander Walters and answered, "The oldest of them went by the name Saul Tigh, but I don't know the other one. The youngest were all infants in age at the time, barely able to speak properly but still chose to go with Saul and the other to the Colonies." Caine staggered back in the chair, shocked at the name Miss Summers had mentioned "You mean Saul Tigh; he is practically Adama's shadow and has been his XO and good friend for years. If what you are saying is true, then I would bet everything that I have left that the others of these Final Five are with the Galactica. Frak; with them, then perhaps we can have a bridge between us and the Cylons; a chance to end this war now and forever would be welcomed by me." This opened a new door for the Cylons and Colonials, Caine has accepted them and it appears that Walters feels the same way; but for now we need to focus on more important immediate concerns. "Be that as it may, our next step should be to find the Pegasus and then the Galactica. We need to be able to pull as many of the survivors together as possible, our best chance at ensuring your peoples continued existence is to have numbers and a planet." Leoben looked at me and spoke, "If that is the case, then I would like to have permission to take a Raptor back to Cylon space. I am certain that I can convince the Brothers and Sisters within the Fifth that this fleet can be a home for them, and we can bring back some basestars to help with fleet defenses." Caine looked like he is about ready to drool over the thought of having Cylon Basestars to defend the fleet and the Anchorage. Walters entered at this time, "Do you need a crew to help you get back there? I am certain we could get some volunteers put together in order to perform the mission." Leoben shook his head and replied "No, it has to be only me; my model is know to be a little odd at times and I will be able to use that to my advantage for getting close to the home world. If anyone were to go with me the Raptor would be destroyed before we would even have a chance at pleading for our lives." Caine grinned at the response and said, "We'll have a Raptor on standby for you within the next few hours. If you are successful in your mission I would like to have you teach the Anchorage grunts a thing or two about being a readied soldier." From there the meeting drew to a close with little discussion remaining, Commander Caine made his way to the flight deck to return to the Anchorage, while Commander Walters and Miss Summers were escorted to the mess hall.

I walk through the corridors of the ship back towards the Bridge, after everything that has happened I am going to need Lt. Anderson to begin tracking everything within our immediate area of space. Entering the bridge I move towards the tactical station to join Lt. Anderson, "Lt. what is the status of the new database of the jump drives?" Looking at me he replies, "Sir, I believe that there is now enough data for me to track any ship within our operational sensor range that has a jump drive equipped to them. If the drive is online even on standby, they will be lit up like a Christmas tree; while the drive is offline we will have to rely on our tried and true methods of detecting objects within range." I nod my head in approval, this means that any ship within range from preparing to jump to completing a jump will be easy for us to detect. Looking at the sensor screen I ask, "Can we detect the Galactica and her fleet? Also can we locate the Pegasus with the new database, after the rescued pilots on the Anchorage it would be best to get them back to Pegasus sooner rather than later." Turning back to the console, Lt. Anderson pulls up the sensor logs and current display; looking over the data for a moment before stopping. "Sir, I have what appears to be a Colonial Mercury class Battlestar baring Yellow-Tango-Three by Seven-Four-One at a distance of seventeen light years." Turning to Ensign Corman, "Page Commander Walters to the bridge and get me the Anchorage and Commander Caine's raptor right now."

It took only a moment for Commander Walters to reach the bridge, at the same time connections to the Raptor and Anchorage were established. Walters moved to join me and the connection was routed to the tactical console, Walters asked "What is it Commander?" I respond "We have detected a Colonial Battlestar Mercury class, it could be the Pegasus. She is seventeen light years out from our current position," looking back to the display I notice other ships of varying silhouettes with the battlestar "looks like they have a fleet with them. I am going to jump the Aurora to meet them and I would like at least one of the battlestars to accompany us with Colonial recognition codes."

_We can have the Valkyrie join you, Commander Mitchell can act as a buffer for the Aurora. With the Savior here I am certain we can live without you for a few hours._

"Thank you Commander Caine, we are ready to leave at this time. Can you give me the status of the Valkyrie, she is ready to jump?" For a moment there was static on the line and then it cleared with Commander Mitchell's voice coming through.

"_This is the Valkyrie, Aurora we are ready to jump when you are; just transmit the coordinates and give the word."_

I turn back to Commander Walters, "Commander would you like to return to the Zeus or remain onboard Aurora for the time being?" Walters smiled at me for a moment before replying "I'll stay onboard if you don't mind, after all having a Commander on board will differently help when it comes to Admiral Cain." Moving over to my command chair, I signal that we jump to the target location, "Commander Mitchell we will see you on the other side."

"_Confirmed Aurora, Valkyrie is jumping now."_

Just as we see the Valkyrie jump away our field of vision is engulfed by the flash of the jump drive. Once the view cleared we were able to confirm the Valkyrie and what appears to be a fleet ahead of us, but no sign of a Colonial Battlestar. "Lt. Anderson, do you detect a Colonial Fleet vessel within the immediate area?" Lt. Anderson works his controls before answering, "Sir, I have checked the surrounding area, they must have jumped as we did. Looks like they left this fleet behind, according to sensors there are nearly two thousand people amongst the fleet itself." Why would they jump away, especially with these survivors with no military ships to protect them? Just as I was about to ask Ensign Corman to open a connection with the Valkyrie, Lt. Anderson yelled "My god, this fleet has been stripped. Sirs, according to my sensors sub-light, FTL engines are gone; looks like the some of the ships were even stripped of the outer haul and computer systems. I am picking up very little energy emissions and even those appear to be backup batteries, looks like their fuel has been siphoned; these ships are dead in the water. Who in their right mind would do this and to civvies no less?" Now this is an issue, stripping ships is a last resort and even then civilian ships are off limits for such actions.

"Get me the Valkyrie right now."

_This is Valkyrie, Aurora do you see our missing lamb anywhere?_

"Negative, and even then it would be best for us to ignore the missing battlestar for the time being. The fleet before us has been stripped; these civilians are sitting ducks with their ships dead in space."

_Aurora Actual, did you say they're stripped? My gods, who did this and where is their protection; Colonial officers wouldn't leave these civvies without help._

"Now is not the time to look for who did this; send a Raptor back to the Fleet and have the Tenders join us for SRS operations. We have nearly two thousand souls who need help and need it badly, let's get these people to safety."

_Confirmed Aurora Actual, we will send a Raptor immediately. Can you get someone onboard, if they have been stripped they might not have wireless any longer?_

"We can have one of the Rescue Teams deployed and onboard within a few minutes. We will deploy them now please stand by."

Moving over to the XO's console, I ordered the deployment of Rescue Team One to one of the civilian ships. Within a few minutes the team was deployed to what looked to be a flattop ship, a connection was established to the rescue team.

"_This is RT-1; deployment to civvie ship is underway. Aurora are you receiving the data stream?"_

Ensign Corman responded, "Confirmed RT-1; we are receiving data stream, all connections are five by five and the mainframe is recording." The main holo-screen displayed RT-1's visual of the ship's corridor; it showed heavily used and worn bulkheads and deck. They began moving through the ship searching the rooms as they encountered them, their P-90s at the ready incase they require them. Some of the bulkheads displayed damage from weapons fire and others opened by tools and cables missing.

"_Aurora, are you seeing this? Looks like those damned Ida bugs had a field-day in here, the only thing that we have encountered is empty rooms and salvage works with some weapons damage. Looks like someone didn't want their ship gutted and they fought back, we are moving forward. Scanners indicate life-signs ahead of us, looks like they are in the ship's main-hold; probably the only place all of them can gather."_

We watch them move deeper towards the ship's main-hold and to the survivors within, all the while looking at the scene before them. As RT-1 moves closer to the hatch, we can now see signs of a struggle, including what appears to be blood on the deck. One member of the team puts his hand on the locking bolt of the hatch and begins spinning it; the others move their weapons into a defense posture.

"_Okay, Styles on three; one, two three"_

The hatch is swung open, inside we can see people moving to find any cover that they can and others hold up make-shift weapons to protect themselves. Sergeant Allens points his P-90 downwards, and we can see on the holo-screen him moving to the front of RT-1.

"_We're here to help you; I am Sergeant Allens from the Aurora of the Galactic Star Forces and leader of Aurora RT-1. Can you tell me who is in charge here?"_

A woman steps forward past the coward and stares at Sergeant Allens, each of the people appear to be covered in soot and some even to be in pain.

"_I am in charge here Sergeant Allens, what I want to know is why you military scum think you can come back here after taking what you want and acting as if you are someone else."_

"_Ma'am, are you telling me that military officers did this to your ship? Can you tell me when they did this and who it was?"_

The survivor's leader looked hard at RT-1 before she spoke again.

"_It was the officers of the Pegasus; Admiral Cain believed that we are a supply depot for her. Took members of our families as well, said that they were drafted into the Colonial Fleet and that any who did not report for duty would watch as their family is executed. My husband was taken from me by you military scum and what is worse is that the Pegasus left us with no way to leave this area, Admiral Cain left us here to die."_

Now that falls under crimes against sentient life, and this is definitely going to lead to a full military review board for Admiral Cain and her crew of the Pegasus. I need to somehow have Sergeant Allens ensure these people that we are here to help them, as a proper military should for its people. "Sergeant, I want you to inform them that we have Tender ships and supplies enroot to provide aid. Also please inform them that we have a fleet of survivors who are more then willing to provide them relief supplies and safety."

"_Yes Sir; Ma'am my commanding officer has requested that I inform you, that we have tender ships enroot to this area with relief supplies. Once we have your ships secured we will jump back to the fleet where you can transfer to any of the civvie ships including the Olympus or Clouds Eleven and Twelve. Now then, if you will allow us I can have our field-medic begin looking at the injured and begin coordinating relief efforts."_

Even through the holo-screen, it was easy to see how the people onboard of the civilian ship relaxed the moment Sergeant Allens ensured them of the relief supplies that are enroot. I am certain that even thou Commander Mitchell can not see what we are, that he is still angered by what Admiral Cain has authorized. What could be going through her mind to not only allow a civilian fleet to be stripped, but to threaten to execute the families of anyone she had drafted to ensure that they reported for duty. Even at the height of the wars with the Ori and the Wraith, we had never forced anyone to fight and we even went as far as ensuring that as few soldiers as possible were exposed to combat during those days. The mind set Admiral Cain must have right now; she must have lost any sense of right and wrong at this rate.

_Aurora Actual, the Raptor is away. My gods, did Admiral Cain really authorize that; I can't believe it, stripping a civvie fleet and then to threaten civvies to get soldiers. Commander I can guaranty right now, if it comes down to the civvies or Admiral Cain, I am going to stick with the civvies. My gods what is that woman thinking, she could at least have stayed with them and found another way to get what the Pegasus needed instead of just taking it._

I turn to look at Commander Walters, he appears to be a little green under the gills; could be that he was thinking about doing something similar to the Aurora when we first showed up. "We will deal with confirming the validity of the Pegasus' involvement after we ensure that these people are okay and back with the fleet. For now let's get started with transferring wounded and sick to either the Aurora or Valkyrie, these people need medical attention as quickly as possible."

_Confirmed Aurora, we're launch Rescue Raptors immediately._

We spent the next few hours moving people from their ships to either the tender ships or Valkyrie and Aurora. After six some odd hours we were ready to return to the fleet, with the Cella's civilians in Aurora's crew mess and Commander Walters with Miss Summers helping the Medical Staff with the survivors. "Okay, all ships let's get back to the barn; Valkyrie you're up first followed by the tenders and then Aurora. Okay let's move, begin jumping." Moving with a renewed purpose our ships jump back to the fleet, but as the Aurora jumps something enters my mind; 'what will happen if the Pegasus reaches the Galactica fleet before us?'


	13. Chapter 13 Viper Flight

Viper Flight – Birth of the Mark SF

T-Plus Thirty-Five Days from Geodesic Jump

Sitting at my desk, I continue to look over the reports from the Fleet refits and of the recon teams. The Zeus had recently finished her refit with a complete shake down cruise in order to workout the new modifications. These modifications include the reprogramming of the network mainframe and design layout, the new propulsion and Inertial Dampeners; we have also ensured all operations for the Naquadria core is running within norms. The biggest changes are the installation of a Sensor Pack to give the Zeus a larger and clearer scanning range, allowing her to help cover the fleet in detecting inbound ships. The other heavy modification luckily enough was already in the design phases for the Colonial Fleet, their version of the Valiant was designed to fire Nickel-Iron slugs at point three-two light speed; our suggested re-design has improved their loading times and has given them firing power at point four-nine light speed. They had nearly tested the new weapon on an unmarked asteroid when suddenly a Cylon Basestar jumped to just in front of them.

The interesting thing about the basestar itself was the fact that there was a continuous signal being transmitted on a subspace carrier band. To be specific, it is the subspace transponder that we had given to Leoben before his jump to Cylon controlled space; and that the transmission showed that he had been injured. We quickly deployed a Rescue Team with Colonial marines to the basestar; what was found showed clear indications of a Cylon civil war. They had found Leoben in the command center with roughly fifty other human-form Cylons; Leoben reported a partial successful mission, they had lost about a fourth of the human-form crew from his basestar but the others awaiting for orders to rendezvous with the fleet had taken the ships with no loss of life. The reason for the single ship jumping in was due to the fact that the Raiders had been deactivated to be certain of fleet safety. Leoben was brought aboard the Aurora, while the Zeus with the Daedalus jumped to the basestars to escort them back to the fleet. Leoben had managed to bring back over four thousand Cylons and another ten thousand Colonial civilians from what he called the Farms.

The rough numbers of nearly fifteen thousand people had to be added to the populace registry, all of which are still currently aboard the seventeen basestars that have joined up with the fleet. That was six days ago, now I have to deal with the civilian government along side the fleet Commanders; we need to let the populace know that the basestars are officially joining the fleet and that the Cylons onboard have asked to join us in peace. As I stand up from my desk, I can not help but think 'what are these Farms, Leoben and the others seemed tight lipped about the whole thing.' I move to the door and enter the corridor; the Commanders had decided that it would be best if the Cylon Commanders stayed aboard either their ships or the Aurora for the press conference. After informing the Fleet Commanders about our visual communications projection technology, we had decided that the Aurora was the best place to hold the press conference in order for everyone in the fleet to be able to watch the proceedings. We are using Press Room One, another thing the Colonials found as odd about Star Forces ships; actually I still find it odd that this room had been added in during the refit. At least this room is now going to serve its intended purpose and allow us to hold this press conference in a controlled environment.

As I join those at the table for this event, I take note that Mister Doral is sitting amongst the reporters 'guess he is not ready to be in the lime light.' Miss Baker looks to me as I take my seat, "Commander I am glad you can join us; there is something I would like to talk to you about if you have a minute." Interesting, well the zoo is not fully gathered yet if the movement of the reporters and camera crews are any indication. "Okay, looks like we have that minute now, what would you like to talk about Miss Baker?" My question innocently enough has somehow has caused her to blush, I must wonder why that is; it is not like we have had that much interaction between her and me besides the basic reports and meetings about the Savior. Looking down for a moment she answers, "I would like to discuss, well I would like to join the Star Forces. I want to help you and well most of my reasons are somewhat private, I hope you understand?" Join the Star Forces; this is not really unheard of after all there are members of the Star Forces not born to the Three Races. The Jaffa Special Operations division for example, they were setup at the beginning of the Jaffa Rebellion; operating outside of the Star Forces at the time, they provided a number of needed victories back then. After the war with the Gou'ld had ended, the entirety of the Jaffa in the Special Operations division was officially welcomed into the Star Forces. Most of them now teach the new marines in Jaffa combat tactics and strategies, even Lt. Johnson had gone back through the Academy after the war in order to re-fresh his training; he came back to us still carrying the staff weapon that Ta'nec once yielded, only now he carried it like a Jaffa would. "I see no reason to deny your request, but you should know that officially you will be only a crewman until we can establish comms with Star Forces Command."

By this time it appeared that all of the reporters and their crews are ready for us to begin, so I stand and begin to address the people of the fleet. During the opening address I can see a myriad of expressions on everyone's faces as I describe the reasons behind the sudden appearance of the basestars now amongst the fleet itself. I then open the floor to questions from the people across the fleet, the connections between ships set to be received by the reporters and not those of us at the table. "Commander Phoenix, I am Micheal Yuski with the Aeolian Gazette. One question I know that has been circulating in the fleet is the Savior; rumors have it as a ship belonging to the Cylons and some even saying that it is from the Thirteenth Tribe. Can you give us any information beyond the fact that it was in an uninhabited system and that the Cylons have claimed it as theirs?" With a quick shake of my head I answer, "Mister Yuski, the Savior is a ship that we have now been able to confirm as belonging to the peoples of Kobol. Now weather that means it belongs to the thirteenth tribe or one of the other colonies does not matter." There was murmurs going around between the reporters in regards to my answer, I had been blunt but also general in my response. Mister Yuski pressed on, "Then if I may ask, the woman sitting next to you; is she Catherine Baker and is she actually a Cylon?" Everyone in the room was silent waiting for my answer; I look to Miss Baker asking her if she would like to answer. She nods in response to my silent inquiry and then addresses Mister Yuski, "Yes, I am a Cylon but according to the Star Forces my physiology has me marked as a nano-cell cyborg. In short they say I am actually a human being who has been modified through the use unique medicines." This caused the murmurs to increase, some even loud enough to be heard by us at the table with ease and not all of them flattering for Miss Baker; enough of this. "Everyone be quiet, any and all comments about Miss Baker will cease immediately or I will have you removed from my ship." That got peoples attention; it was then that Mister Doral entered the fray "Commander Phoenix, if I might ask you what Miss Baker's purpose here is on the Aurora?" Mister Doral good job at helping, "Mister Doral, Miss Baker is present due to the fact that she has recently been accepted as the newest addition to the Star Forces and Aurora's official crew."

The murmuring restarted with a renew fervor, comments about the Star Forces now as the center of discussion between the reporters. "Excuse me, Commander Phoenix let me ask; did you just say that the Cylon next to you is the newest member of you crew? Oh yes, I am Miss Michelle Smither from the Capricain News Network out of the Olympus." I signaled my affirmative to her question, she continued "So then Commander, how many of you crew are Cylons? In fact how many of your crew are machines themselves?" Smiling as I answer, "a total of two members of the Aurora's crew are as you put it machines, those are Miss Baker and Aurora our ship board mainframe AI Core." This caused Miss Smither to blanch at the mention of Aurora having an AI Core, while Mister Doral jumped on the question "Commander, are you afraid that the Cylons whom are trying to destroy this fleet will access and reprogram the Aurora AI Core?" This is where some of the fun can begin, "Aurora, will you please enter the conversation at this time?"

_As you request Supreme Commander, hello I am Aurora._

Before us at the table, Aurora projected her Human-form avatar; adorned in the uniform of the Star Forces she stood tall showing her pride of being apart of the crew. _I am Aurora, the ship board AI Mainframe Core. My purpose is to assist the crew in the performance of their duties as members of the Galactic Star Forces. I am currently six years of age and have been an official member of the Star Forces with the rank of Captain for the past five years._ Suffice it to say, this stunned the reporters and maybe even half of the fleet; we had never mentioned Aurora's presence onboard before now. Aurora turned to Commanders Caine and Walters whom remained unmoved in their seats, _Commander Caine, Commander Walters it is nice to finally meet you. I hope that meeting me like this will not affect your opinion about this ship and her crew?_ Both Commanders just shook their heads, more than likely still attempting to understand how Aurora could be so human and be a machine at the same time. Turning back to the reporters Aurora asked if anyone had anymore questions in regards to her, once more Mister Doral stepped forward "Captain Aurora, is there anything that can keep you from harming the crew of this ship?" Aurora looked at me for a moment, my smile told her to go ahead with her answer _Yes Mister Doral there is, that is the fact that I have sworn to an oath that all members of the Galactic Star Forces take. 'By all that is light I swear to uphold this oath "I am the light protecting those trapped in the night, I am the gate in which blocks those whom will harm innocents, I am the sword, I am the shield, for I as a member of the Galactic Star Forces will give all that I am to protect all that is life, for this is the path I have chosen to walk the path of the Guardian.'" It is this oath that will ensure that I will never betray my shipmates, this oath that clearly states that as a member of the Star Forces and citizen of the Three Races Alliance that I am alive._ The look on Mister Doral's face showed a man whom would give anything for Aurora's words to be true. For the next twenty minutes the reporters continued to ask Aurora question after question until finally Miss Smither asked, "Aurora, can you leave this ship if you want; to actually leave the Star Forces and do as you please?" Aurora took only a moment to answer _if the day comes and I leave the ship, I will be bound to the same laws of the universe as everyone else. And trust me, there have been times in which I have wished that was not true; that I would be able to return to this ship in a split second, if it were then maybe I would not have lost someone important to me years ago. She was someone I could call my sister, my best-friend, she was a member of my family and she died saving the lives of our family._

Aurora, she is talking about Melissa; she was one of those who took Melissa's death the hardest and has always blamed herself for following my orders to help evac the civilians instead of being here to help protect the crew. I knew all to well what my order might mean, but we are Star Forces and that means we put the lives of others before ourselves; that is what the oath we each took means, to give up our lives for others if the need arises. "I believe that is enough questions for Aurora, now then let us continue to our next piece of news. The Battlestar Pegasus and her crew have wronged a civilian fleet; by stripping them of parts from their ships and leaving them with no way to leave the immediate area of space. Because of this the moment we locate the Battlestar Pegasus, the Commanders of this Fleet will hold a Military Review Board and determine the required and warranted punishment for Admiral Cain and her crew." The reporters looked shocked at my declaration of the intended fate of the Pegasus crew, I am certain that many within the fleet have been looking for something along these lines since our rescue operations. I must confess that I have never liked this part of the job, but all commanders must one day be prepared to sit in judgment of their piers who would act such as Admiral Cain. Staying on this subject will only cause more pain within the fleet and so, "Now then, we have some news about a project that has been in the works since the being of this fleet's exodus. To help ensure the safety of this fleet, a team of engineers from both the Anchorage and Aurora have been working on a new generation of the Colonial Viper." I look to Aurora and signal her to project the visual feed from the testing area for the new Mark SF fighter, above us the holo-projection displays a group of ships with a Viper in the middle. "As you can see above you, this is the area we are using to test out the new Colonial Viper Mark Star Forces or the Mark SF for short. The Mark SF is a redesign of the Mark VII Viper, the redesign has allowed us to give the new systems such as the Inertial Dampeners the proper installation and operations field; now then we are going to begin the live flight trails." Over the opened comm. link we can hear the beginnings of the test flight.

_SF-1 you are cleared to begin flight trails with engine cold start._

"_Rodger that Anchorage Control, initiating engine cold start test."_

Within a mere second we see the Viper's engines ignite and race away from the escorting 302s, the Slip Fighters quickly kicking their engines to forward thrust in order to catch up to the Viper. We hear the comm. chatter from the pilots racing after the new Mark SF, with each turn, course change the testing continues to show the marked improvements of the Mark SF over her older siblings of the Mark VII. Everyone is in awe over the newest addition to Fleet Defense, I am certain that even the Cylons are in awe of our newest defending craft. The comm. chatter once again becomes the main focus with.

_Okay, SF-1 we have confirmed that you have past the flight trails. We have only one test left for today and then it is back to the barn for maintenance._

"_Confirmed Anchorage Control; what is this next test?"_

_SF-1 this test is to check the operations of the new Viper Jump Drive._

"_Anchorage Control can you please repeat that, did you say the Viper Jump Drive?"_

_Confirmed SF-1, we will now be testing the new Viper Jump Drive systems._

Everyone turned to look at us sitting at the table, the knowledge that our newest defending ships will be equipped with their own FTL engines appears to draw quite a bit of attention. I had managed to read up on the past generations of Viper design, the smallest the Colonials could ever get the Vipers Jump Drives to be built limited the jump to within six light minutes distance. This caused the project to equip the Vipers with jump drives had been abandoned, only recently have even the Cylons been able to overcome the obstacles to said project. We managed to succeed with the modifications made to the power plants within the Vipers, by altering the buffer systems we have allowed the Viper to carry the required energy for a jump within a form of a quick use power pack. As we waited for the test jump, the room was silent and that is understandable after all for the Colonials this is history in the making; back home we had developed the means of Fighter based FTL engines during the Gou'ld War; we never really showed the civilian populace the testing for our fighters while it took place. Before I could further compliant the differences of the two development projects, SF-1 jumps away in the commonly known flash of the jump drive. The next few minutes are tense as we await the fate of SF-1 and the results of the test jump, suddenly the Viper reappears in a similar flash of light; we hear the comm. chatter.

"_Anchorage Control this is SF-1 test jump completed. By the Gods this thing will really give us a leveled playing field against those new Raiders. I was able to jump twice within only a few minutes, takes the Raptors twice as long to spool their jump drives."_

_Acknowledged, SF-1 come back to the barn and good job._

"_Rodger that Anchorage Control, SF-1 returning home."_

I take this moment to speak to the fleet, "As you can see we have been working on a means of leveling the field with the Cylon Raiders. The Mark SF is our first attempt to reach that goal; thus far the majority of tests have proved that the new design is nearly ready; the only tests remaining are the live fire testing and live combat testing of the new Viper." From there the questions resumed with great intensity, this continued for the next few hours; we concluded the press conference with an opened invitation to learn more about the Star Forces.

I find myself a few hours afterwards entering the officers' mess with Miss Baker in tow; I am looking for Lt. Johnson in order to officially assign him to train Miss Baker as a member of the Star Forces. It is Miss Baker that spots him in the back corner with his staff weapon beside him at the table; moving towards him Miss Baker calls out his name. Turning to face us, "Catherine, did you ask the Commander" he then looks at me and with a salute "Sir, I apologize for not realizing your presence sooner." I waive it off, the look on his face clearly shows that he is more interested in Miss Baker then me and so "Lt. Johnson, normally I would give your assignment through Captain Rights but in this case it is better that I give it to you directly." I take the padd that I have been carrying and hand it to the Lieutenant, he reads over the information before sharply looking at me and then to Miss Baker. I nod my head and give him the clearance to go about his business; as I leave I turn my head back to them to find Lt. Johnson trilling with Miss Baker in his arms, perhaps my theory that the Lieutenant is one of Miss Baker's reasons is correct on some level.

It is during my track back towards my office when Aurora projects directly into my path, this is the first time since we have undergone the refit that Aurora has projected herself without someone calling for her. _Commander, I suggest that we reach Medical immediately._ From the way she sounds it must be important, "Aurora what is it, normally Hiendol would call me to Medical if something needs my attention there." Aurora closed her eyes for a moment, 'part of her program code to make her more humanoid' opening them within a few seconds _Sir, I have just finished scanning our newest arrivals from the Olympus. It appears that one of them is agitated to the point of a possible violent reaction; Hiendol had asked me to run continuous scans on anyone from the Colonials or Cylons. Additional sir, the Colonial in question seems to be mumbling that he must destroy the Cylons aboard of the Aurora._ This is not good, "Aurora I want you to have Security in Medical and another team to intercept our mumbling guest, we don't want to have any violence at this stage of the game." Aurora quickly executed my order while I changed my path to take me down to Medical, hopefully the only Cylon that will be there will be Mister Leoben.

I managed to reach Medical within a few minutes, but not before the Colonial civilian apparently. As I enter I can see that he has a small handgun pointed towards one of the rescued civilians that had been brought over from the basestars. I look on trying to determine my next move when he shouts "Tell me, why are the Cylons doing this; why did you kill my sister and then have the gall to look like her." Okay not good, he must be past the breaking point but his sister; just who is he and is the woman on the med-bed his sister? I turn to see the security team move silently into Medical, the standard Lantean Stunner in their hands 'one of the few weapons that is of practical use on board of a ship.' I move slightly towards one side of the area making as little noise as possible while at the same time the team moves closer to the Colonial. Moving swiftly they managed to stun him before he could pull the trigger on his weapon, as they secure him I see that the young woman is crying. I move over to join her and even thou I know part of her answer I ask, "Miss are you okay?" For a few moments she does nothing but cry, and then she looks at me and asks "Why, why does my brother think I'm a Cylon? Is it, is it not enough what they did to me, do I, I have to live with the fear that my brother thinks I'm a, a Cylon?" I look towards the restrained Colonial civilian before turning back and answering, "No, you don't have to live with that; I am certain that Hiendol can get you and your bother back into a healthy state both mentally and physically." She shakes her head before trying to look at me and asks "How, do you even know what they did to me? Do you even have the slightest idea of what the Cylons were doing to us in those places?" I look at her for a moment before responding, "No, I do not know for certain; I do know that they have an issue within their physiology that is the cause of unrest within their populace and other than that I will not say. I do have a theory and I hate to say this but you have just proven that theory correct, I am sorry." She renews her crying, I can not help but wonder if we would have ended up in a similar condition as the Colonials had it not been for our friends amongst the Star Nations. I sit with her for nearly two hours, just sitting there to let her know I am willing to help but will not push her to open up and talk with me. As she falls asleep Hiendol approaches me, "Commander thank you for sitting with Miss Ashley Jenison, I am uncertain where to begin her treatment." I stand and move towards Hiendol in order to allow the now identified Miss Jenison to sleep, "Hiendol I have never known you to be uncertain about someone's medical care, does it have to do with what the Cylons did to her?" We move towards the primary console in Medical as Hiendol answers, "Yes we have discovered numerous scarring within the reproductive areas of the rescued civilians that the Cylons brought with them to the fleet. It is my opinion that this has been caused by experiments preformed by the Cylons in order to solve their reproductive systems errors." To go that far, the Cylon race is definitely a young race if they are willing to go to such measures. I nod my thanks to Hiendol and after checking on Miss Jenison I once again make way for my office, I have paper work to catch up with; I am just glad that the paper work is now digital and no longer actual paper otherwise I would be buried in it by now.

Nearly six hours have past since the incident in Medical, I have been able to complete my paper work for the day, but not everything is done yet. I still have to face the crew evaluations, including my own and to make matters worse is that this evaluation is going to be held with little room for changes in crew assignments given our current situation. Adding further to the crew evaluations is Miss Baker's academy testing, nearly half of the command staff will be required to test her and then train her in the required courses to become a member of the Star Forces. For the majority of her training we can use the shipboard facilities, it is the survival training course that will be difficult to properly train anyone in without access to a habitable world. I will have Astrometrics keep a look out for any habitable planetoids within range of the fleet for the next few months; the planets themselves can serve as a resting place for the people of the fleet. I am certain that even the military crews of the Colonials are not use to remaining on ships for more than a few months without stepping foot on a planet, my own crew will be the same and that is despite our experience with long-term deployments. The Midway station at least gave us the Garden onboard ship to help prolong our deployments; the previous garden was nothing more than a room with potted plants on shelves. The new Garden gives us a fully simulated nature experience, well as full as an area of five thousand square feet can give you; the design layout was done by a Landscaping Artist to give us as much realism as possible for ship. I will have to workout a schedule with the Colonials to ensure that their people get as much access to the environments of Clouds Eleven and Twelve in order to prolong their health and lives until we can get them to a secured and safe planet.

It is during the entry of my latest reports for Star Forces Command when I receive a message from the Watch Officer. The message stated that one of the outer Patrol flights detected the radiation from a nuclear attack and that the investigation is currently awaiting the order to proceed. I give the order to move in and determine the cause of the assault and if there are any survivors; within a few moments the patrol flight reported that the remains of two basestars and a small debris field has been discovered. Ordering a connection to be opened to the Anchorage I request the use of a fleet tender to assist in salvage operations. The Worker herself moves clear of the fleet and then jumps to rendezvous with the patrol and to secure the area. It took them several hours to collect and secure enough of the debris for proper analysis before they jumped back, now I find myself walking through the Worker to the CIC.

The fleet tender CICs are similar to Aurora's bridge in design layout, wall mounted consoles surrounding a plotting table with a dradius console above that. The plotting table is the only difference other than the external view of the Aurora's view-port between the two. Commanders Caine and Walters are conference in through the wireless being unable to leave their commands for a second time that day, while Commander Mitchell has joined me on the Worker. As I reach the plotting table the current commanding officer of the Worker, Colonel Delmere gives me a salute and then returns his attention to the report on the table. "Commanders, the salvage crew has been over the wreckage that we have retrieved and the findings are somewhat interesting. It appears that some of the wreckage has been confirmed as parts from the rescued civvie ships from a few weeks ago. And to further confirm that we have managed to confirm the wreckage of a Mark VII Viper that last according to the records was assigned to the Battlestar Pegasus." This is interesting, might be that we have discovered a lead to the location of the Pegasus; Commander Caine then spoke.

_So it looks to me that Admiral Cain is tracking someone; mind you I am going by my gut here but I would say she is hunting the Cylons that are hounding after Galactica, out of the two Galactica would be the easier target._

"_I agree with Commander Caine about the Cylons choice of targets, out of Galactica and Pegasus the Galactica would be the easier target considering she has a fleet to defend while the Pegasus does not."_

Um, that does seem to be the most logical outcome, but I am uncertain that it is the Pegasus playing hunter and the Cylons not know about her. "Commanders if I may ask, is it possible to track a ship through a jump with the Colonial jump drives?" They answer nearly all at once with a reply of 'NO' but that raises another question is it truly impossible or just a common belief that it is impossible to track a ship through a jump. I decide to mention one of the side projects of Lt. Anderson, "Gentlemen, I have to admit the main reason we have been developing a means of tracking ships via their jump drives. While we are jumping ourselves we are as blind as a bat, but outside of a jump if a jump drive is active even if idle we are currently able to determine an exact location based off of the subspace wash from the drive." This caused both Commander Mitchell and Colonel Delmere to look at me slack jawed, I am certain the Caine and Walters are doing the same as well or at least close to it.

_Are you saying that you can track a ship going through jump?_

I respond to Caine's inquiry "Not under going the jump, but directly before and after with relative accuracy. Problem is that if the drive is shut down to conserve power we have to rely on our normal sensors and with all this hash in sub and hyper-space it is difficult to get any details with our normal scans. That is one of the reasons we have not located the Galactica yet, basically with this hash it is like trying to point her out within a fleet of her class of battlestar; in sort we have to run a high resolution scan of a smaller area to detect ships if they are at a set distance from the fleet." Commander Mitchell looked at me for a moment before saying, "So that is how you picked up the Pegasus and the fleet we rescued, you detected her with her Jump Drive spooling up." I replied with an affirmative and continued to explain that the database is still being constructed and our sensors are being calibrated to operate with all of the hash within this area of space. From there we continued the report on the remains and agreed to send out Recon teams to locate other sites such as the one detected by the patrol team; for now we have a possible lead for the Pegasus' location and possibly even the Galactica.


	14. Chapter 14 Kobol Found

Kobol Found – Knowledge from the Past

T-Plus Sixty-One Days from Geodesic Jump

Once again our recon teams have located the site of a battle between the Cylons and a Colonial ship, more then likely the Pegasus. We have had to move the fleet at least thirty times due to the increased Cylon activity in the area; our sensors indicate that the Cylons are deployed in a search gird. To increase our effective sensor net the Zeus, Savior and Aurora have been deployed to strategic positions within the fleet and all sensor readouts are transmitted to the Anchorage Control Center. We have additionally deployed the Aurora's SDUs 'Sensor Drone Unit' in which has allowed us to cover the gaps created within the sensor net itself. Right now I wish we had a Titan class Recon ship with us, they carry thirty SDUs to our standard three and the Titan class would have an easier time with this hash than us. As of this time we are positioned at roughly thirty-three light minutes from the most recent debris field, but this field unlike the others appears to be the remains of a Colonial civilian ship. We have identified her as the Olympic Carrier and the cause of her destruction appears to have been an engine core breach, we are uncertain of the cause of the breach but we now know for certain that we have located remains from the Galactica Fleet.

The newest members of the Colonial Fleet some of which are the ones to confirm that the Olympic Carrier was with President Roslin are basically chomping at the bit to continue forward. After a careful analysis of the debris itself, we have been able to confirm that the Olympic Carrier had no one on board when she was destroyed and that the engines were at full burn at the time of the breach. The only thing of any real interest was the remnants of a nuclear warhead on board, more than likely the ship had fallen behind during Galactica's run and the Cylons tried to use it as a weapon against them. We have continued with the treatment of the rescued survivors from the Cylon farms; Mister Leoben has confirmed that the only farms that are left running to his knowledge are on Caprica. After Mister Leoben had recovered somewhat, he gave us a detailed report on the current, at least was current disposition of Cylon forces within former Colonial space. The last thing we need is to tip off the Cylons to our current plans or the location of this fleet and so to that end, we have with the help of our new Cylon friends identified and either saved or arrested the remaining Cylons within the fleet. The majority of them are more than willing to join us, perhaps one or two are under the belief that we must be destroyed and are currently being held in the brig on Aurora.

I have also made it a common practice as of late to spend time in Medical at least for an hour each day. The Colonials filtering through seem to believe that I would make a good leader for them, while I am only ensuring that they do not lose faith in their future survival. I have been spending most of my time while off duty either in Medical, on the Deck or with Amanda; Amanda has told me that my spending time with the Colonials in Medical has brought smiles to the faces of those leaving the ship. Hiendol has also asked if I could see that some quarters be made available for those in Medical whom she believes are not ready to leave the ship. It is to that end I now find myself overseeing the refit of one of the spare cargo holds into a make shift camp, this will include a space for a school if we are with the Colonials long enough. Captain Renolds has expressed a personal interest in the project and has been leading the charge when ever I am unavailable. I finished my meeting with Captains Renolds and Gaeta and am now making my way towards Medical to check in with Hiendol and the Colonials whom would more than likely be staying onboard.

It is as I enter Medical that I am blind sided by the sight before me, standing there barely able to stand on her feet is Miss Jenison. Before I could even think she stumbled forward and I made a dive to catch her, luckily I managed to keep her from hitting the deck. I yell for a med-tech and then turn my attention back to Miss Jenison, "Are you okay?" She looked at me with a slight smile on her face and replied, "I am now" just as the med-tech arrived. Together we moved Miss Jenison back to the med-bed she has been occupying for the past month, after ensuring that she is comfortable the med-tech moved to report to Hiendol while I remained by the med-bed. As I sigh Miss Jenison grabbed my arm, causing my attention to shift to her as she spoke, "I'm glad you're here, I've been waiting for you." I raise my eyebrows in confusion, why would she be waiting for me; I know Hiendol has stated that Miss Jenison has shown improvement with my visits but I am nothing special, just a man trying to help the best he can without causing more damage. "Miss Jenison why" she interrupted me by saying, "Please Commander call me Ashley" I paused before continuing "Okay Ashley, why have you been waiting for me?" For some reason her smile grew, then she responded "Because you're the reason I feel so much better, I will never forget what was done to me but with you here I can at least feel safe." Well at least that is a logical response, I just hope that is all that my presence causes her to feel.

Before I could respond, Ashley grabbed my arm with her other hand and screamed; moving to look in the same direction I see Hiendol approaching. "Ashley there is nothing to be afraid of, I promise you that you're quite safe here and that no one is going to let you get hurt." She looked at me for a moment and then asked, "What is that thing coming towards us?" Both Hiendol and I sigh, this is not the first time someone has reacted like this to the presence of an Asgard but calling Hiendol a thing is not really something people take kindly to. "Ashley, Hiendol is a her if you what to refer to her without using proper names and further more she is the ship's Chief Medical Officer. Trust me, Hiendol can and at times does out rank me when it comes to the medical care of anyone aboard this ship." Ashley looked from me to Hiendol and back again before asking, "You mean that it, sorry I mean she is a member of the crew?" I nod my head in answer and Hiendol spoke, "That is correct Miss Jenison, I am a member of the crew and as the Commander has already informed you I am the Chief Medical Officer. Do not worry about my feelings in regards to your earlier response of my presence, after all this is the first time within my knowledge that you have encountered an Asgard." Ashley's eyes widened at Hiendol's words and then asked, "are you an alien, I mean I have heard people mention how the Asgard are the smartest amongst the Star Forces colony but I thought that the Asgard are just a people from a place called Asgard?"

I take the reins and answer, "Actually the Star Forces is the military arm of the Great Races Alliance. We have and protect several hundred worlds and the Asgard people are from the world of Halla in our home region of space." Ashley looked at me once again, her eyes filled with questions, as she spoke "What is the name of your planet Commander and will I be able to see it?" I better be careful, I guess my best answer would be, "Well some of my people actually lived on Kobol for a while, lived right beside your ancestors." Ashley smiled at my answer and replied, "That is nice but it still does not answer my questions, will I be able to see your planet and what do you call it?" I have to think quickly, I know "The name my people use is Lantus-Terra and perhaps you will see it one day. Right now I am more focused on ensuring the survival of what is left of your people then getting back home." Ashley seemingly has accepted my answer for the time being, that was a close call and I still need to speak with Hiendol about the available quarters. As I begin to excuse myself so I can speak to Hiendol Ashley opened with another question, "Can I stay here on your ship?" Hiendol answers with, "the Commander is here to inform me of the status of the quarters I have requested for you and some of your fellow patients." Ashley actually seems gleeful at the possibility of remaining here on Aurora, I respond with the knowledge that it will be a few more days before everything is ready.

Hiendol does a quick check of Ashley to ensure she is alright before excusing herself and leaving me and Ashley to continue to talk. Ashley looks at Hiendol's retreating form before asking, "So how many aliens are back in your home region?" How many aliens, hmm "I would say about fifteen or so separate sentient races and actually we use sentient instead of alien, it is much easier that way." Ashley asked why and I stated, "Well to be technical from my point of view you are an alien and from your point of view I could be an alien also. Since the word alien can mean so many different things and the word sentient has only a small field of defining, we use sentient and that is especially so since for some odd reason every culture has a similar definition of the word." Ashley continues to ask me question after question about back home, I have managed to keep thing general and not mentioned names that she would recognize but something will eventually slip if I am not careful. "So Commander, do you have any family perhaps a girlfriend or something along those lines?" Okay now she is getting into more personal questions, but I can at least be friendly and answer "I have a family back home, my sister with her husband and their son, then there is my mother and with her are my children and before you ask I am not married nor have I been married and then finally my little brother who is aboard ship as a member of the crew."

Ashley looked at me and then asked, "How do you have children and have never been married?" My answer is truthful with "simple, my children are known as Replicators. A basic example is a more advanced version of the Cylons; Replicators are nano-cell collectives that form complex organisms such as people." Ashley smiled at my answer while replying "so they are machines that you built in lab and decided that you would call them children?" "No, they are actually living beings with their own rights and are seen as fully sentient living beings. I even managed to give them an altered copy of my DNA so that genetically they are my children," my answer while being the truth has caused Ashley to look down for a moment before return her gaze to me. Then she began to speak again starting with "well I guess you should know more about me then. I am twenty-seven years old and I am from Caprica, I spent my time in college trying to become a history major. My parents were so proud of me when I graduated top of my class earlier this year and my main field of study is Ancient Kobolian History; I can probably tell you more about Kobol than anyone else." She looked at me for a moment before continuing, "Well since you say some of your people lived on Kobol perhaps you can confirm something for me?" I reply that I could try and for her to continue, she then asks "Well you see, I am fairly certain that there was something more to Kobol than what history says. There is a theory and mind you it is not very popular, in fact people have been beaten to death because of this theory." What kind of theory would cause someone to be beaten to death, unless it went against the mainstream belief system? Ashley continues with, "The theory states that Kobol is not the first world to hold human life and that we in reality come from a world far off amongst the stars themselves. Personally I never took any real stock in the theory until about two months before the Cylons attacked us."

I grab the tray from the food cart that is passing by and signal for Ashley to continue, "Well Commander I found a book and in fact I sent it to my brother on the Olympus to see how old it is. I read through the book itself, it said that the Lords of Kobol left because of the fall of Atlantis and that they returned home to Earth." Written proof of Lanteans on Kobol, perhaps this book has some information that we can use. Ashley took a bite of her food and than said, "Well I found it hard to believe, the frakker who wrote it said they left all their ships behind for us to use. He wrote that they left Kobol for Earth by using something called a Stargate, said that it looked like water and that the Lords of Kobol walked into it and disappeared." Ashley reached for the glass of water; I handed it to her and asked, "Do you believe that this Stargate is real?" She shook her head and replied, "Before now I would say no, but that Hiendol; she actually looks close to the drawing of one of the friends of the gods whom lived in the land of Ida. It was said in both the Sacred Scrolls and that gods for saken book that the gods have three great friends. The first from the land of Ida whom looks close but taller than Hiendol, the second are for those of peace whom call upon the one called Nox and then there is the third friend, it is said that she walks in the shadows of the light and can not be seen and is called by Furling." Those are the three of the Four Races Alliance from millions of years ago before my people left Milky Way and settled in Pegasus galaxy.

I look at Ashley and ask, "Do you think that your brother still has that book? I would like to make certain that your people do not lose any more of your cultural history." Ashley just smiled at me again and shook her head saying, "No he doesn't after he was released two weeks ago he went back to the Olympus. The next day he paid me another visit to say he was sorry for ever thinking that I am a Cylon." She reached behind her pillow and pulled out what looked to be a book, "In fact he handed this to me and said that it could be as old as the Sacred Scrolls." She has the book, perhaps I can get it away from her long enough for the information to be copied into the mainframe. I watched as she opened it and turned to an unmarked page and started reading "and so the Lords walked to the Great Stone Ring we called the Gateway of the Stars. They touched the symbols for the tribes, seven tribes and then touched the crystal dome and so water appeared in the Gateway. They walked into the water and were engulfed by it and as Lord Zeus turned to leave he spoke upon us these words _My children grow strong and care for all that is life._ As we watched Lord Zeus leave us, I saw that the oldest six tribes and the youngest tribe's symbols had been touched. The light that showed them to us faded and the water was gone, I write this in hopes that those whom read this will know and accept why I remained. I have grown to love these children and wish to spend my remaining days with them, I will miss Earth thou I never knew her beauty I will never see the Stargate again for even as I write this I am going blind. This I could have been healed in Atlantis, but with the sounding of her fall I have grown to enjoy that my days will end here in Kobol; and so I now say good my Lantean siblings, for now I will rest eternal."

Ashley closed the book and looked at me, I can see in her face a resolve for the truth that can match anyone back home. "Commander, this book suggests that the gods are really people whom lived beside us but were far more advanced then us at the time." Perhaps she will be willing to accept the cold hard truth about Earth, but for now I will not bring that to her. Ashley took out a pencil and paper from the bag next to the med-bed and drew seven symbols on it, my eyes widen in shock; these are the symbols to dial Earth from an out of galaxy Stargate. Looking at me she asked, "Is this your world Commander, are you a descendant from the Lords of Kobol?" I sit there unmoving, how can I answer that; Ashley clearly has proof that Kobol was colonized by Earth and to make matters worse she has the Gate coordinates for Earth itself. She touched my arm causing me to look her in the eye, then she asked "Please tell me the truth, was Kobol one of your colonies, are you a Lord of Kobol? I am certain you are not a god, with everything I have seen for the past month I am certain now more than ever that the Lords of Kobol are not gods." See was pleading with me for the truth, she wanted to know so badly and her desire for the knowledge. I look her in the eye before I can even answer; I lose all reason to hold back the truth from her. "Before I tell you, you must promise to not tell anyone else until we can make sure that your people are safe and sound." Ashley nodded her head in agreement to my request and I answered truthfully.

"Ashley my people are called Lanteans and yes Kobol was a colony of my home world, we had colonized Kobol some where around three million years ago. We left our home world around twelve million years before that, we left because of a plague that was sweeping across the galaxy at the time." She nodded her head as I continued, "The Asgard are the friend from the lands of Ida, or as we call it the Ida galaxy in which Halla resides. I and the majority of the Aurora's crew are from Earth itself, the Star Forces and the majority of my home region covers an area of three galaxies." Ashley looked at me wide eyed, she was writing as quickly as she could, trying to preserve my words more then likely. I put my hand on hers causing her to stop and to look at me, she asks "Why did you not tell us, the people have the right to know." I simply respond, "This is true, but does that give me the right to shatter your culture and destroy the very history that your people hold dear?" Ashley's eyes widen for a moment and then she looks away from me, she more than likely now understands somewhat why we have not told anyone in the fleet that we are from Earth. "Commander, I would still like to know more about you and about Earth," I can still see the desire for knowledge in her eyes and I respond with a yes. I excuse myself and tell her that I will be back after I deal with a few things that require my presence and that when I return we will continue or discussion about Earth.

It is as I leave Medical that the ship-wide announcement for me to come to the bridge is made. I make haste and enter the bridge minutes later and say, "XO Report?" "Sir," Christina gives me a salute and continues "we have picked up a repeating message on a subspace carrier band." What there wouldn't be any transmissions on subspace unless we are near either the Thirteenth Tribe or, "Ensign put the message on the overhead." Ensign Louis compiles with my orders and shortly we hear the message.

_To anyone within range of this message, primary power is failing all secondary supplies have been exhausted. Currently fifteen Lanteans with forty-three humans are in stasis, assistance is requested; repeat currently fifteen Lanteans with forty-three humans are in stasis, assistance is requested. This automated message will repeat every two standard minutes._

The signal then began its repeating cycle while I look to Lt. Anderson and Ensign Louis and order, "Locate the source of the signal; we are going to provide aid. Ensign, contact the Anchorage and advise them of our status and our change in position." Ensign Louis acknowledged the Anchorage's response and relayed our current status; it took Lt. Anderson several minutes to locate the source of the signal. "Sirs, the source is at baring Blue-Gamma-Foxtrot by four-nine-two; distance is one hundred and six light years." At that distance we would be leaving the fleet with a blind spot, but still "Doctor how long will it take to get the jump coordinates?" Luckily enough Dr. Myers was present on the bridge and managed to answer with a few minutes and turned back to the jump console to get the coordinates.

I can not help but wonder what could be the cause for this message; it is not like the Cylons would be able to bait a trap thinking we would jump the entire fleet in and the distance is another factor. Before I can think any further Dr. Myers reports that she has the jump coordinates and that we can jump back within mere seconds if need be. I turn to Christina, "XO, do we have the Mark SF on board?" Turning to her console she answers "Yes Sir, the Mark SF is currently on the port deck along with three Raptors from varying ships within the fleet." "Order all traffic to be held and redirect them to other ships. Ensign, inform the Anchorage we are going to check out the signal source and that if we don't check in within the next hour to jump to the emergency coordinates for the fleet." Each of us moves to our assigned positions as the ship-wide announces the jump sequence and within the moment we jump to orbit of a planet.

Looking towards the Tactical Console "Lt. Anderson, what do you have on sensors?" Lt. Anderson quickly response with "Sirs, I confirm fifty-eight life-signs on the planet below. Looks like they are underground and what I am detecting show clear signs of a ZPM reaching max-out. Additional Sirs, I am picking up what appears to be debris from a Cylon basestar, looks like they took a nuke from the inside." The remains of a basestar could the Pegasus or the Galactica have been here it would explain the debris. Before I can think further Lt. Anderson reported a set of rings have been detected at the location of the life-signs. "XO, have a rescue team on standby with a med-tech and engineer; we are going to provide aid to those in stasis." Christina responded with confirmation of my order and sent the command to Ring Room One for a Rescue Team with Med-tech and Engineer to be ringed down to the planet below.

The Rescue Team established a connection to the ship moments after it was confirmed that they ringed down. They moved towards the only visible doorway in the room, it took them roughly a minute or so to open the door. Upon entering the next room we on the bridge heard a gasp from behind us, turning I see Lt. Gaeta standing there with her hands over her mouth. "Lt. Gaeta, are you alright?" The Lieutenant looked at me and then responded "That's the Tomb of Athena. How did you find it, better question is do you know that the Tomb of Athena is only on Earth and Kobol according to the Sacred Scrolls?" Kobol, that would explain the message and its current source location; turning to the Ensign, "Ensign Louis, connect me to the Rescue Team now." He quickly preformed his task and signaled me of the connection. "RT Leader, have your team hold position and standby for further orders."

_Yes Sir, RT-3 will hold position until further orders. Okay Marines hold position, orders from up top._

Turning back to Lt. Gaeta I ask, "What can you tell us about the Tomb of Athena and Kobol?" Lt. Gaeta looked down for a moment before answering that she only knew what is in the Sacred Scrolls; she mentioned that if we had a Major in Kobolian History from the University of Caprica we would have a better source of information. I move over to the XO console and open a link to Medical, I quickly ask Hiendol to have Miss Jenison brought to the bridge. Within a few minutes Hiendol informed me that Miss Jenison is on her way to the bridge with some med-techs. Not five minutes later then Miss Jenison appear on the bridge, I motioned for the techs to help her to my command chair; after which they took positions next to her. "Miss Jenison, we are in need of your help. You see apparently we have located the Tomb of Athena and more than likely Kobol." With a quick look from the main holo-screen to me and back again her eyes widened in shock, a smile formed her on face.

From there I had Miss Jenison give orders to RT-3, with her as our current expert on Kobol it is our best option. For nearly half an hour TR-3 moved from one part of the room to another, we actually had to switch the view mode to all views in order to keep track of everything. Then one of the privates on the team located an access panel in the middle of the room, I focused the command display on her HUD unit.

_Sergeant, I have a control system here looks to be the controls for a ring system, Sir._

_Aurora, are you seeing this? Commander, what are your orders?_

I look to Lt. Anderson who confirmed that RT-3 is above the detected life-signs by several hundred feet. I order the Lieutenant to keep a lock on RT-3 with the Asgard Transport system, while the XO orders RT-3 to activate the ring system. For a moment nothing happened and then the signal was disrupted for a mere second before our feed resumed with the view of a hologram room. From there they move through the open access way in further into the structure, the design is obviously Lantean. During this, I order one of the Raptors to launch and return to the fleet, with them is the coordinates for ships to jump between the two locations.

As RT-3 reaches the Medical Center the Battlestar Daedalus jumps into system to join us, Commander Langston reported that the fleet was prepping to jump in order to join us. Slowly over the next few hours we have sent additional crew planet side to help RT-3 secure the stasis pods that they have located, while fleet ships join us in orbit after jumping into the system. One of the pods has been brought up to the Aurora, to that end I along with Commanders Walters and Langston, along with the Gaetas and Miss Jenison are now in Secondary Medical with Keith. We are gathered by the stasis pod, I had to explain the basics of the stasis technology to our Colonial guests but so far they seem to understand things well.

As Keith looks over the data from the pod, I look at the life energy of the person in stasis; shaking my head, they can't be any older then thirteen before they went into stasis. One of the things that Lanteans and Asgard share in terms of physiology is that our eyes can pickup different energy spectrums with relative ease unlike many of the other sentients. Giving the signal Keith opens the pod, for a few moments we all stand there while Keith checks the young woman from the pod. While we wait for Keith to give us the all clear, Commander Langston "She can't be any older then her early twenties. Do you know how long they have been in those things?" Commander Walters turned Langston and replied, "Does it really matter Kat? I will tell you right now, it doesn't matter to me not one bit; as far as I am concerned they are our people." "Your right Bolt, but Commander Phoenix how do you think they will react to find out that we have awaken them and what happened on the planet below?" I unfortunately do not have an answer for Commander Langston, and before I can even reply Keith signals that we can approach.

I am the first to approach the pod and I catch sight of the young woman opening her eyes. "Hello, do you know who you are?" She looked at me for a moment and replied "Trea, muna esta Terra?" She is speaking in an odd dialect of Lantean, hmm trea if memory serves means life, it could be her name; turning to the others I say "I am going to try speaking in an older language to see if she can understand me." They nod and I turn back to the young woman and begin speaking in old Lantean.

"Trea, muna esta Kobol?" – "Trea, are you from Kobol?"

"Ei, muna esta Kobol, muna esta Terra?" – "Yes, I'm from Kobol, are you from Earth?"

"Ei, muna esta Terra, oen munas Aurora tenos." – "Yes, I'm from Earth, and this is the ship Aurora."

"Enos, ronis ta umna?" – "Excuse, please your name?"

"Enos, ta umna Phoenix." – "Excuse, my name is Phoenix."

"Enos, ta fron mes tas?" – "Excuse, my head in pain help?"

Turning to Keith, "Keith can you get some pain killers?" I turn back to Trea and continue "Boans tese ta mon Colonial?" – "Perhaps you know some Colonial?"

"Yes, I know how to speak Colonial. It is a little difficult for now but I am able." I hold my hand up to signal her to stop. I turn to the others and waived the forward, turning back to Trea I resume, "Trea, not that many amongst us know Kobolian and in truth the majority speak in what is called Standard Colonial." Trea just nodded her head and looked to everybody in turn and asked "Humans?" While Commanders Walters and Langston seemed confused by the question the others were silent. I replied "Actually Colonials and Tua'ri" I lower my voice and in Lantean say "Colonials muna Kobol, oen Tua'ri muna Terra" raising my voice again I continue, "We are trying to rendezvous with a fleet more than likely on course for the Kobol colony world Earth." This time Trea was confused, she is more than likely questioning how the home world can be mistaken for a colony.

I begin again and explain part of the reason for my previous statement, but by flaring my energy at certain points I am able to tell Trea that there is more than I am saying. As I finish Trea asks "When will the others be here, I would like to be present when they awaken." I answer in a few hours, but we will be awakening them in shifts so we can provide attention to each one in turn. We left Trea shortly after that so she can get some rest, I turn to one of the Lantean officers and order them to stay near by Trea incase she needs anything.

Commander Walters nodded his head to me and then made his way to the port flight deck, while Commander Langston continued to follow us to Astrometrics. Since the fleet's formation we have had turns for fleet commanders to come aboard the Aurora and be given a basic grasp of our ship board operations. Langston is one of the few whom has given her turn to others from the civilian fleet, today she is joining us. What the fleet commanders do not know is that we are also using this as a testing method to see if we can reveal more about ourselves to the people of the fleet.

It is now been seven hours since the fleet has joined us in orbit of Kobol, and once more the fleet commanders have gathered together. We are aboard the Anchorage; I look around at roughly forty faces, each commanding one of the fleet ships. Amongst them are the seven faces of the Cylon commanders, I can see why Caine smiles every time he sees them; wearing Colonial Fleet uniforms. The newest report that is being read to us is from the Tender Ship Galaxy, a survey team discovered the remains of a Colonial Raptor planet side near the ruins of a city. As the report indicated the Raptor was one of Galactica's and had been shot down roughly three weeks ago, and to add to matters is evidence that the Galactica fleet had been here as recently as a few days ago. Additional the evidence is only added to with the discoveries of the bodies of people that have been confirmed with Roslin during the attacks on the Colonies two months ago.

A debate arises, weather we should send out scouting parties to locate Galactica or have the Aurora, Savior and Zeus run continuous sensor sweeps to find the Galactica. I can only hope with the evidence we have gained, that the Galactica and her fleet are still within sensor range. Before we could continue, the meeting was interrupted with the report of a near by Cylon fleet. We moved as quickly as possible returning to our commands in order for the fleet to jump out to an emergency location, I hate thinking this but perhaps the universe is playing with us; giving us the chance to get this close to the Galactica and then to push a Cylon fleet towards us. If I do anything, I will make certain that these people reach the Galactica and her fleet, after which I will get them to safety even if it means taking them from this galaxy and back to Earth and the Star Forces.


	15. Chapter 15 Birth of Hope

Birth of Hope – New Lives and Weddings

T-Plus One Hundred and Sixteen Days from Geodesic Jump

Sitting at my desk, I press the key sequence for the audio recorders and begin speaking. "Commander's Log: Day One Hundred and Sixteen; Home World Date September, Fifteenth of Twenty-Fifteen. It has been nearly four months since our arrival in this galaxy, and thus far the only life we have confirmed has been limited. Out of nearly three hundred worlds that we have passed, only thirteen of them seem even capable of supporting humanoid life without needing to be terra-formed. To make matters worse is that the people we can confirm alive from these worlds are either with the fleet or are with other ships we have yet to encounter.

I must admit, at first I was uncertain of why so little worlds could support life and then we found Kobol. Thou most of the city has been destroyed over time, enough of the mainframe systems remained for us to download a nearly complete database and it includes star charts of this galaxy. The star charts have been copied to the Anchorage Control Center; of course we are updating the charts to make up for the four thousand years of stellar drift. The charts have given us more information that we could have hoped for, including the course that Kobol followed to reach this galaxy; but the data also showed that something caused the city to fallout of hyperspace at the edge of the galactic rim. This has confirmed that the hash in sub and hyperspace does encompass the galaxy, but has opened even more questions about the cause.

According to the records, Kobol had to transverse a distance of nearly four hundred thousand light years to reach the planet they landed on. The course took them through the galactic core and oddly enough it appears that everyone from the Colonies and Cylons are following the course back towards Earth. According to best estimates put our arrival at the galactic rim in roughly two years of hard travel time via the Jump Drive; a path that took a Lantean city-ship nearly one million years to cover with using only the star drives. But this news is shadowed by the newest addition to the fleet, something that Populace Registry has been celebrating for the past few days.

I was happy and to an extent am still happy when I announced to the fleet the birth of a healthy baby girl born to a Picon family whom are currently living aboard the Anchorage. This is the first member of the newest generation of the Colonials; Chairman Roberts was present to provide his support to the family including getting them accommodations aboard the Olympus. Currently the Picon family is remaining on the Anchorage until a proper home can be chosen for them to raise their daughter. I have requested that a panel of civilians be established to ensure that there is no favoritism shown to anyone in the matter of procuring housing for future families. I have received several requests from the current government that a member of the Star Forces also be apart of the Housing Panel. I have replied that currently all members of the Star Forces are military and as thus would defeat the purpose of ensuring no favoritism towards military personal for housing requests.

I am also delighted with the progress that has been made on project Athena, and currently we have had an influx of volunteers to join the Colonial Fleet. Project Athena is almost entirely a Colonial project, but we are involved because of the design changes to include Star Forces technologies such as Naquadria and sensors. The Anchorage has normally a total of five docks, each in which can accommodate a Warstar; to that end two of the docks have been put to use as a new ship yard. Docks Delta and Echo have been fitted with the space-frames of a Warstar and Battlestar Mercury class; we have decided upon the name Athena for the new warstar. When the Commanders asked, my reply was 'It is appropriate is it not, after all Athena is the wife of Zeus and his second amongst the gods.' The commanders smiled at my choice of names and officially she was named Colonial Warstar Athena, her new commander has yet to be chosen due to the lack of crew and commanders available.

This is something I have found that we can not contest with the Colonial's is their belief that Athena and Zeus were husband and wife. And even thou we have no records to counter this, or the desire we can not let them see that according to our history that Athena was Zeus' daughter not his wife. Of course we have found several differences in Colonial beliefs of what we have always called the Greek Gods, but that is to be expected with the vast difference in histories between us.

I have found most of this due to the event that I will be attending in the next few hours. I will be attending the wedding of Commander Adam 'Bolt' Walters and Miss Julia Summers. They have requested that the ceremony take place here on the Aurora, I have seen no reason to deny their request if anything I am glad they have requested the Aurora. It has already been reported that Commander Walters is getting married, but what surprised the fleet is that his wife-to-be has come forth confirming that she is a Cylon. The people of the fleet are still split between those whom accept the Cylons and those whom still feel hatred towards them for the destruction of the Colonies. But from what Commander Walters has informed me, the majority of the Zeus' crew has accepted Miss Summers as one of their own.

This information will also be provided in my standard reports for Star Forces Command. End Log." I end my log and move to prepare myself for the wedding taking place shortly aboard my ship. Miss Summers and crewman Baker have been spending as much time as possible preparing for the wedding, so much so that crewman Baker is the Maid-of-Honor. Commander Winters has come aboard with Commander Walters; Walters had asked his former XO to be his Best-Man. I find all of this quite refreshing and a beacon of hope for those whom will call for peace, after all if those whom swore to destroy the Cylons can stand beside them then there is always hope for the future. Luckily for me, I am already wearing my class one uniform and all that is needed is my date for the wedding.

I move to my door and exit my quarters, there in the corridor I come across Commander Caine. "Commander, I was not expecting to see you on board; are you here for the wedding also?" Caine nodded his head before saying, "Originally I was going to stay on the Anchorage and make certain no-one ruined this for Walters, but Julia gave me a prefect reason to be on board." His smile has grown during his reply, "Really, would you mind if I asked what she said to get you over here?" Caine slapped my shoulder with a laugh and said "Sure, she said 'how can you give me away if you stay on the Anchorage'." Give her away, of course she must have asked Caine to escort her to the alter, Caine continued "She made a very convincing argument for me to be over here, she even called me Dad just to make sure that I am here for the wedding." I smiled at that, Commander David Caine giving away a Cylon at her wedding; who forty years earlier fought and killed Cylons and now here he is acting like a father for one.

Together we walk down the corridor heading towards the Garden, Amanda and I agreed that we would meet at the Garden before the wedding. Just as we reach our destination we both hear a scream of "Daddy" and I catch sight of Miss Summers tackling Caine to the deck in one of the most affectionate hugs I have seen since I left Earth. Caine just started laughing and hugged her back, I shake my head; ever since this fleet had been formed it has been one change after another for the Colonials. But at least this change I can definitely say is amongst the best to occur; before I could continue my train of thought Caine said "Be careful, your old man isn't as strong as he use to be anymore." Miss Summers smiled and replied "I know better than that, after all you are still a legend amongst our people Daddy." I can't help be smile at the exchange between two people whom nearly four months ago were enemies whom would have been forced to kill each other, now their acting like father and daughter.

I kneel down to offer my hand to Caine in order to get him to his feet, as we both stand Miss Summers ducks into the room that we have provided as the bride's dressing room. I turn to see Commander Walters approaching us with a concerned look on his face "Commander Caine, is something wrong? I was under then assumption that you had Fleet Watch." Caine smiled wryly for a moment before replying "Yes, something was wrong and my presence here on the Aurora is needed." Caine's serious expression has both the Commanders before us on the defensive; Commander Winters asks "Sir, what do you need us to do?" I decide to give Caine a little assistance "Commander Winters, Caine here has to give Walters his mission brief before he starts his mission." Now both of them look like I have just ordered their deaths and Walters opens with "Commanders, this is my wedding if you send me on a mission Julia is going to kill me." I can barely hold my laughter much longer and Caine decides it is time to lay down the Laws of Caine.

"Oh, don't worry about that Commander Adam Walters; after all that will be the least of your worries before today is over. Now as for your mission, I will be simple in this order if you do anything to upset my little girl not even your warstar will be able to protect you from me." This is where I lose what control I have and break down laughing, Winters looked at me like I have lost my mind and asked "What daughter?" I looked at the men in front of me and replying between laughs "simple Miss Julia Summers Caine, of course." The looks on their faces are priceless, Winters immediately joined me laughing at the plain obvious truth of the matter; Caine had just given the boy marrying my daughter speech. Walters of course appeared to be relieved that he wasn't going to be killed by the woman he loves because of his career in the military.

I volunteer to take Walters and Winters into the Garden so Caine can prepare himself for his new duty as a father giving his little girl away to her future husband. As we enter I am still laughing somewhat, of course I can not help but find it amusing but at the same time I know that I will one day have to give my own daughters away to their future husbands and will do the same thing to their men in turn. Before I could enter another bout Amanda grabs my attention nearly the same that Miss, Julia has done with her new found father. "What is so funny John? If you're laughing about what Commander Caine pulled outside in the corridor then I will have to remind you that the same fate awaits you back home." I stiffen at that statement; Amanda is right about that, if she and I do decide to pursue our relationship to that point then I will be faced with that.

I quickly turn to Amanda and see the she is smiling over the fact that she can frighten me with such a threat. This has to be one of the few universal constants that exist, of course I might be mistaken after all not even in all the millions of years my people were amongst the stars can we say we discovered all the peoples in the universe. We spend the next half hour talking with different people from the fleet; here to attend the wedding is half of the current government. The political members of the fleet are going to us this to their advantage, I guess this is one of the reasons why I dislike politics as much as I do always has to make everything in a tool. But as I turn to face the entrance to the Garden I notice Caine shaking his head, a quick glance told me everything I needed to know. I moved over to the alter and "Everyone, please if you can take your seats we will begin shortly."

We all took our places, my place just happens to be next to the Colonial Priest whom is performing the ceremony. The reason for this is due to the fact as ranking Star Forces officer it is my duty to validate the marriage from Earth's point of view; still I have yet to mention the name of our primary home-worlds. The wedding preceded much like it would back home; I smiled as Caine gave Julia to Adam like any father would. Aurora had taken a seat next to Amanda, the two of them acting much like Melissa and Aurora did all those years ago. As the wedding drew to its closing I noticed a slight expression on Walters' face, I myself have never given much thought to my own future with someone but if my guess is correct then he is thinking about his love.

Watching Adam and Julia walk down the isle together, I think about those whom will have the courage to follow in their foot steps. To surpass the species barriers and find love like the two now walking into their new lives together. I move down the isle now, making my way towards Amanda, as I stop next to her I reach out and take her head in my own. Perhaps Adam and Julia's resolve to each other has given me the strength needed to move forward with Amanda, after all if the people of Kobol could have the resolve to continue forward then so should we. "Amanda, there is something I want to tell you." She looked into my eyes and shook her head saying, "I know John, I love you too. Now then mister, we have a dinner to get to so let's get moving."

We ended up spending nearly the entire night shift at the dinner, by the end Caine had given his new son-in-law every reason to do what his wife would order of him. I am happy for them; Julia had given up any hope of returning to her people and home-world for the man she loves and Adam has just gone against the current thinking of nearly half the fleet by just loving her. I would have liked to see them off, but Amanda had other plans for me and I did not resist one bit. We spend the remainder of the night shift sitting together in my quarters just thinking about the future, a future I am seeing for this fleet hopeful with an end of a journey taking us into Earth orbit with almost half a million people.

I now find myself back on the bridge nearly two days later; our most recent recons have located resource sites. Based on the information provided, the site is Cylon in origin and the materials appear to be related the cloning process. It appears that we have located the path the Cylons are taking, the Cylon members of the fleet have confirmed as much when they informed us of the Resurrection Ships. Currently we are now holding position near the edge of the system in order to make full use of the Savior, Zeus and Aurora sensor net. Before I could continue reading the report Lt. Anderson calls out, "Sir, two civvie ships are moving out of position. Looks like they are going to make a run to the Stealthstar hidden in system, your orders?" I turn to Ensign Corman, "Open a connection to those ships." "Sir, I have the Zeus already talking with them, should I put it on the over head?" I nod in reply and then we hear the opened connection.

_Civilian ships, I repeat this is the Warstar Zeus return to your positions in the fleet immediately._

"_I don't think so Cylon Lover, we're going to make it through this no matter what. Staying with you will only get us killed."_

_Listen, I asking you to reconsider this; what about the children aboard your ships or even those who want to stay with the fleet?_

"_They are better off with us."_

I can let them just leave and so "Attention Civilian ships, this is the Warship Aurora; I can understand that you're frightened but think about those who still have family in the fleet. Do you want to rip them away from possibly the only loved ones they have left?" For a moment we were met with silence and then the connection crackled.

"_How are you going to stop us? This is our best chance to survive who are you to decide how we live?"_

"I am not going to say that you have to stay or go, but at least return to the fleet and allow those who want to stay with us to leave your ships. Perhaps there are others in the fleet that wants to join you?" Before I could get a reply Lt. Anderson yelled "Radiological Alert, they have an active nuke with them." This is bad, "Lt. Anderson, can you get a lock on the warhead with the transport beam system?" "Negative Sir, the system safeties are engaged; the only thing I can grab is the people aboard the ship." Blasted safety systems, we might not have much time "Lt. Anderson give me some options."

For a split second the Lieutenant studies his console before turning back to me, "Sir, I might be able to punch a small enough hole in their haul to get the decompression to remove the nuke for us." "That would be too dangerous for us to attempt, for all we know that would cause it to detonate." We need some way to get the nuke offline without storming or destroying the ship but how, how are we going to end this without blood shed. Before I could consider any further options the klaxons sounded, "Lieutenant, report what is going on?" "Sir, I am detecting critical buildup in the nuke. Confirmed detonation in fifteen seconds." "Beam them out now!" I did not even think twice on my order, but it was already too late and we witnessed the deaths of two ships.

I look over to Lt. Anderson my silent question answered when he reported "I only got one hundred and five out of nearly three hundred. I'm sorry sir, I grabbed as many as I could." His face told me that he would have done anything to get more then he had managed to rescue. I turn to Ensign Corman, I can see her crying; this is the first real loss that we have had since the fleet was formed. "Ensign, connect me with the Zeus." I will have to let everyone morn in their own way.

_This is Zeus, Commander were you able to get anyone off in time?_

"Yes, but I am sorry to say that we barely got a third of them before the warhead detonated."

I turned to look at the bridge crew, everyone has a sullen look upon them; I can understand their feelings, we promised to help protect these people and here we have just failed. Finally my gaze falls upon the debris field in front of the ship, why did this have to happen.

_Commander, can you take care of those you rescued; I don't know if I have the strength right now. But thank you for saving who you could._

"Confirmed, I will personal make certain that the survivors are taken care of. Commander I am truly sorry for the loss of life today."

I left the bridge with barely a word; the watch officer nodded his head and took command while I made my way down to Medical. I wonder how they will feel when I tell them that we were unable to rescue more of their friends and shipmates before they died. After the events of the past few days, this just makes me feel so hollow; even with all of our technology we could not save just a few more. As I enter Medical I steel myself for what I must do, there before me are those we had managed to rescue; nearly nothing but children. I slowly approach them, a little girl tugs on my uniform looking down to her she asks "Mister, can you help me find my daddy?" I kneel down to look her in the eye, "Were you with your daddy on the ship?" She shakes her head, "Daddy left me in the room to play, then there was this bright light and then I was here."

I look around for a moment; I don't see anyone much older amongst the rescued survivors. Before I could say anything a hand falls upon my shoulder, I turn to see Miss Jenison kneeling down as she says "I'll help you find your daddy. Can you tell me your name sweetheart?" The little girl looked between each of us before she answered, "My name is Laura, who are you nice lady?" "My name is Ashley and this is Commander Phoenix, you know Laura is a very petty name." Miss Jenison, I am glad she stepped in I honestly wouldn't know how to comfort the child before us, then picking up Laura I watch Miss Jenison place her on the med-bed and say we would be just a minute.

"Commander, can I ask what happened?" I look at the children, all we managed to rescue were children, "Two ships left position within the fleet and made course for the system towards the primary. One of them had an active nuclear warhead on board, somehow it was detonated; we were only able to save one hundred or so." She put her hands over her mouth, "My gods, then is her father, is Laura's father dead?" I look down, I am certain I heard her gasp before I returned my gaze to her, "Miss, Ashley that little girl might not have anyone left." Tears ran down Ashley's face, after everything that has happened and now this to take away more lives. I look around us, taking in the sight of so many children now probably without any family left in the universe.

I ask Ashley if she can keep Laura company while I go to speak with Hiendol, nodding her head Ashley heads back to the med-bed. I move through Medical towards Hiendol's office, as usual I find her treating her patients with her usual bed-side manner. Before I could speak Hiendol looks at me, "Commander, the majority of my patients are ready to be transferred to their quarters aboard ship. I am afraid that not all of them will be able to assist with the children now on board, but I am certain that will not stop some from trying to assist." I shake my head with a sigh and ask "Do they know what happened outside?" Hiendol just ignored my question, her usual way of saying no; I guess that I will have to somehow find a way to tell them.

I move back towards Ashley and Laura, I can see them sitting together on the med-bed with a few more on the deck in front of them. As I approach I can here Ashley telling them what appears to be a story, I slow down to be a quiet as I can be in order to listen. "They were the must beautiful towers, each one standing tall reaching towards the stars above. All around them was nothing but ocean as far as the eye can see, it was a deep green blue." One boy raised his hand, "Miss Ashley, what is the name of the city and what colony was it on?" "Well Micheal, the city was called Atlantis and it was not on any of our colonies, do you want to know who built it and where it was?" All of the children nodded their heads in earnest; Ashley continued "You see the City of Atlantis was built by the Lords of Kobol themselves and for where it was." "It is in the Pegasus Galaxy, on a world of beautiful green blue oceans as far as the eye can see," Ashley stared at me as I joined them.

One of the girls asked, "Mister, why did you say is; Miss Ashley said that it fell." I smiled at the little one and replied, "Because, Atlantis still prospers; a beautiful city where millions of people live and work everyday." Now all of them were looking at me expectedly, "You see when Atlantis fell, the city was hidden under the oceans of the planet we call Lantea. I remember it was just a little over five years ago now; an expedition left our home-world to find Atlantis. They not only found the city, but raised it from the depths of the ocean and back to the surface where it could be repopulated. Now it is one of the capitols of the Great Races, it is also the protector of thousands of human worlds." This time one of the boys asked, "How far is it from us and what is your home-world, who are you?" I look at each of them, "Me, I am nothing more than a Lantean a long way from home. A home I am proud to call Earth, and so you know Atlantis and Earth are so far away that the bad Cylons will never be able to find them."

Laura kraaled over into my lap and asked "You're from Earth?" I smiled at her and replied "Yes, I am from Earth and in fact you can ask anyone on board of this ship, almost all of us are from Earth." Now the boy identified as Micheal spoke "If you're from Earth, then you're a member of the Thirteenth Tribe?" I shook my head, "No, I am not a descendant of Kobol. You see my people split into different groups long ago in order to survive a plague that was in my galaxy. Some of us left to live in Pegasus, but a small few went even further then that, the city they left in they called Kobol." They all looked at me and Ashley asked, "You said the city they left in, how could they leave in a city?" "When my people built our cities, we did it in the grandest way we could; we built City-Ships, spaceships that were entire cities," Ashley and the children looked awed.

Another of the children asked "Sir, are you a Lord of Kobol? You look so much like us, are you really a god?" I looked at her and answered, "Me, I am not a god and to be precise I am not really a Lord of Kobol, thou you can say that I am related to them. So who wants to hear about Earth?" All of them replied happily and so I spoke "Earth is the third planet from the system primary. The majority of the surface area is ocean, but nearly forty percent is land. We have a total of eight continents, seven that are natural and one that we built and that is where most people live now." I looked at the teddy bear Laura is holding and continued "We had to make our eighth continent in order to ensure that the animals we had on Earth would continue to survive. For the longest time all we had was Earth, your people had twelve whole worlds while we only had the one for the longest time."

Ashley looked at me and asked, "Why is that, I mean you have ships and I am certain there is more than just Earth in your system." I put my hands on Laura and replied, "Because for the people of Earth many believed that we were all that existed, in fact it was only six years now that the majority of Earth learned that we are not alone." We continued on like that for hours, each of the children before us asking different questions. Ashley looked like a kid in a candy store each time I spoke about Earth or any of the worlds back home. Laura than asked one of the biggest questions of them all, "Can we go to Earth?" Before I could answer from behind us, "Yes little one, you can go to Earth after all my brother here is going to take us all back to the home-world."

I turned my head to see Trea walking up to us; I must admit that she and her fellow survivors have grown up since we revived them. Trea sat down next to Ashley and continued to speak, "It is his duty to ensure that each of you are safe and if I know him as well as I believe, then he would take us all to Earth to ensure our protection." Laura looked at Trea, her eyes wide at the young woman whom had just joined us. Trea smiled at the children and then turned to look at me, "I am correct am I not brother?" "Yes, Trea you are correct; I am going to get this fleet to Earth" the children all smiled at my statement. I spied Hiendol giving me her usual look saying that is time for her patients to get some rest, "Okay everyone, it has been a long day so it is bed time." All of them sighed at that, they probably want to hear more about Earth; but they do need to rest.

I leave Medical not long afterwards, I had to promise them I would return to tell them more stories about Earth before they would go to sleep. One of the things I have been looking at for the future has just been thrust upon this ship, we have become a multi-generational ship. At least I can say it is not yet in the truest sense, only after the crew start to have families, will that come to pass. Before I could get to far down the corridor, Trea calls me "Brother, please wait for a moment." I turn to see Trea carrying Laura in her arms, for some reason it appears that Trea wants me to carry Laura. "Yes Trea, what can I do for you?" before I could get an answer Trea looks at me expectedly. I look at Laura sleeping there in her arms; I move and take Laura "Good, brother I feel she would be better off with you." I motion my head signaling Trea to follow me and then I resume my path towards my quarters.

At my quarters I give Trea the access code to open the door, after opening the door I move inside with Trea just behind me. I ask Trea to wait in the main living area while I carry Laura to the sleeping area, there I lay Laura on the bed and cover her with the sheets. I rejoin Trea and ask, "Okay, why do you feel that Laura is better off with me? Trea, you do realize that I am not even a member of her civilization?" Trea sat down on the couch and said, "Brother, I felt it in you the moment we first met; you would go out of your way to save them and so I am certain that you would raise her as a good father would." I shake my head with a sigh, why did Trea have to see that "Trea, you need to understand that things have changed since you went into stasis. Laura needs to be raised by her people; she needs to have what every other Colonial child has!" Trea smiled at me while replying, "Yes, she does need to have what other children in this fleet have, she needs a father and mother. Brother, like it or not I know you are the best to raise her; the way that you spoke of the home-world to the children, it shows me that you are a good father."

I sat down and look at Trea, the look in her eyes show me pain perhaps it is the pain of losing her father and mother. "Trea, are you trying to give her a chance that you lost when you went into stasis?" Trea stood and moved towards the door, looking back at me "Brother, you understand loss just as I do and that girl now sleeping in your bed. Give her what you can; I know you will succeed after all you are a father are you not?" I smile at that thought, she is right I am a father but still Laura will need a mother also; "Brother, the one named Amanda do you care for her also?" I look up as Trea walks out of my quarters, as she leaves she looks at me and says "I will ask her to come here and help you brother. The two of you together raise that little one as if she were your own, that is all I ask of you brother." With that Trea walks away, I move back to the sleeping area and see that Laura has hugged her teddy bear close to her. She looks like Annalisa at that age, I stay there watching her sleep; maybe just maybe Trea is right and I should be Laura's father.


	16. Chapter 16 New Mysteries

New Mysteries – Happy Birthdays

T-Plus One Hundred and Twenty-Two Days from Geodesic Jump

Six days, that is what it took for the worlds to be created and life born but for those of the fleet it is six days of morning of those whom have died. For me and Amanda it is six days as hopefully and unexpectedly new parents and as the universe has proven once more not all things occur as one could hope. Despite now four months passing since the holocaust of the Colonies, the Anchorage Populace Registry has yet to form all of their departments. As thus why orphaned children throughout the fleet have yet to be given somewhat stable homes, the children now aboard the Aurora at least have something close to stable. Trea and her fellow survivors have been working with the children on a constant, they have worked to an extent that borders on parenthood. Amanda has been trying her hardest to get Laura to open up to her, as have I but so far our attempts have not as been as successful as we have hoped.

One thing that I initially found odd was the fact that Laura was not registered with the Anchorage amongst the survivors list, and Laura has not given me a last name for her family. It was not until yesterday that I found out a possible reason for this, Laura had come up to my desk and asked me "Commander is there anything you want of me?" This caused me to look at her oddly, why ask me such a question after all she is still a child and it should be me asking her if there is anything she wants. Turning to face her I ask, "Laura can I ask why you would ask something like this?" it made little sense to me before, but with her answer and just as Amanda entered, Laura's question made all the more sense "because with my daddy gone you are my owner now." I could see Amanda standing there shocked at what we both just heard Laura say, Amanda moved towards us and hugged Laura tightly, while saying "We don't own you, we want to be your parents; people who love you not own you." Laura just nodded her head and replied, "They are one and the same" Laura was unable to finish as I placed me hand on her mouth.

I looked into Amanda's eyes and then looked back to Laura "With that I take it your Geminese, which if my memory serves correctly means the first thing a child learns is that they are the property of the parents." With my hand now clear of Laura's mouth she nodded in response, quickly sighing I continue "Laura, if we succeed in adopting you, then you will no longer be property but a person with their own rights under the law." Amanda continued for me with "Laura, on Earth parents care for and love their children, but no one owns another person. That is called slavery and has been abolished on Earth officially for over a hundred years and the galaxy at large for the past few years." Laura's eyes widened at that, it must be the thought that something that is apparently common place for her has been banned on Earth for over a century. Me and Amanda move Laura over to the couch and sit down with me putting Laura in my lap and Amanda started talking with "Laura, how would you feel now about us being your parents knowing that we wouldn't own you?" For a few moments Laura seemed frightened by the question before suddenly I felt something odd and wet.

Oi, please let my nose be wrong about that smell but Laura confirmed that it is correct when she cringed as if expecting me to hit her. I as calmly and softly possible ask, "Laura did you accidently go potty, if so I will not hurt you but Amanda here will give you a bath." Laura looked between the two of us while Amanda looked concerned at Laura and on the verge of giggling at me, Amanda made the decision for us, "okay Laura, you are coming with me while we give your hopeful father here a chance to change out of his uniform." As Amanda took Laura into the bathroom I moved from the couch to the dresser to pull out one of my spare uniforms, it was as I was striping off my pants when Laura came running out and hid behind my legs. I looked up to see a very soaked Amanda with a playful scowl on her face and looked at Laura hiding while using my as a shield.

I turn around and lift Laura with my arms tucked under her shoulders and started carrying her back towards Amanda while saying, "Oh, you think that with me between you and your mother I will save you? I think not, not even I would dare cross her; you see Laura I may be the Commander of the ship but your mother is the commander of this family." Once we entered the bathroom Laura cried out 'NOW' and before I knew it somehow both me and Laura found ourselves soaking wet with my back against the wall in the shower section. "Good job Laura, now that we have your father in the shower we can give you that bath," Laura started shaking her head and wiggling to get free from my grip. I look to Amanda standing there the only one of us that is even remotely dry and whisper into Laura's ear, "Keep struggling, I want it to look real for when I pull your mother in to join us" As I motion for Amanda to take her, I shift my grip just enough for Amanda to think I am going to hand Laura out of the shower to her. As Amanda reached out, I grabbed her with my free hand and swiftly pulled her into the shower forcing her to join us.

"John, now I am soaked; just why did you do that?" Laura started giggling after I had started laughing, I managed to get out "Well I couldn't have just me and Laura get cleaned up and besides I think a mother daughter bath will help the two of you bond." Amanda slapped my arm and replied, "alright then, have it your way but you are giving me my daughter and then you are getting out of this bathroom." I smiled brightly before wrapping my arm around her and pulled Amanda into a light kiss, "Okay, but after you two are done I am going to tickle the both of you. Remember you two might get this bathroom but I still get the two of you to love, now then enjoy." I hand Laura over and attempt to leave the bathroom, but Laura does not release me from her grip. "You, you are going to love me; I am not your property?" I smile down at Laura for a moment and then kiss her on the head before saying "Yes Laura, we are going to love you not own you. But we will still tell you at times things we want you to do, it is one way a parent shows their love but we will never tell you to do something unless it is out of love for you." With that Laura releases me and I head out of the bathroom and return to my desk after putting on a dry uniform.

It was nearly an hour later when Laura came running out of the bathroom and jumped into my lap. "Daddy, can we have dinner?" I look over at Amanda and smile; she is wearing the spare jumpsuit uniform I keep in the bathroom closet. Looking back to Laura, "once you get dressed and your mother is ready then we will get dinner. But first do you want to eat in here or do you want to eat in the mess hall?" My innocent question made Laura look at me oddly before asking "what is the mess hall?" I put my hand on her head and say "it is the one place on the ship where everyone eats together, say just like the other children on board and who knows some of them might be there and want to be friends with you." With that Laura slid herself off of my lap and moved back to Amanda, whom was now standing in front of the fabricator.

I spent the next twenty minutes as Amanda looked for something for Laura to wear within the ship's database. I smiled at how Amanda dotted over Laura, it definitely looks as if Trea is correct about Amanda and myself raising Laura; the two of them look so natural with each other. By the time we left my quarters, Laura is wearing a flower yellow and pink sundress with a pair of summer slippers. I reach down and offer to take Laura's hand in my own, at first she is a little hesitant but like these past few days we have managed to open up to each other. We walked hand and hand into the mess hall and up to Cook's line, there Laura looked at everything in awe. "What do we have here? Looks like the newest member of the family is confused on where to start." We all turn to see Cook coming out of the kitchen with a tray in his hands, he is carrying two plates of his ship famous Chicken Spaghetti. Kneeling down with the tray still in his hands, "Hello, I'm Lt. Marks but everyone calls me Cook; but you can call me Uncle Cook. I thought that you would like a family dinner and so I made my ship famous Chicken Spaghetti to celebrate you joining the family."

"Mister, what do you mean joining the family?" Cook smiled at Laura and said, "Little Laura I told you that you can call me Uncle Cook and what I mean by joining the family is that everyone on board is our family." Laura looked between the three of us for a moment before asking "does that mean everyone is my family?" "Yes Laura, everyone on board will be your family. You see over the years we have grown close to each other and have become a kind of family for one another, so that will make Cook one of your many uncles." Amanda kneeled down and hugged Laura asking, "Laura will you accept me and your father as your new parents and gain a whole new family to love you?" For a few moments Laura stood there and then she wrapped her arms around Amanda, "Yes, I love you mommy." I could not help but smile at the scene before me, "I hate to do this, but our dinner is going to get cold if we don't eat soon and your uncle Cook put a lot into making it." With that we moved to eat dinner, Cook did a great job and by the look on Laura's face she had enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

It was the next day; I was on shift while the Chief had ensured that Amanda was off shift until at least fifteen hundred. I am online with Commander Caine and Populace Registry, "Can I ask what is taking so long for the adoption forms to be laid out and written?"

_Commander, to be honest we did not even think about adoptions and this has caused a small frenzy over here._

I sigh before continuing "Commander Caine, do you have an estimate of how long it will take to have these forms ready for hopeful parents to use?"

"_If I have my way, you will have an adoption form on your desk within the next few hours. But for some reason the politicians are making a stink about civvie legal procedures not being controlled by the military."_

Okay, now that I can understand after all the civilians need to be able to govern themselves or this fleet will fall apart at the seams. With Laura's name not in the Registry thou, "Perhaps you can at least get Laura's name into the registry with the names of Amanda Williams and Phoenix Mazikowski marked as foster parents."

_Commander, that much I am certain we can do for you. It will still take some time for official adoption papers to be laid out and written, but we can at least do this much for you. If I can ask, what is Laura's home colony and what will her last name be?_

I smile with a reply of "Her name will be Laura Mazikowski and as for her home colony, she was born on Geminon to my knowledge. Before you ask, my civilization does not practice slavery, so she will not be property; if it helps think of her being adopted by people from Caprica." Hopefully this will smooth out possible affects in the coming few days.

_Sounds acceptable to us over here, we will attempt to get the forms created at a better pace._

"Thank you, and Commander I will see you at the weekly report. Aurora out." Closing the connection, I shift my attention to the picture of my family whom are still Earth side. I remember us taking the picture a little over five years ago just after the official formation of the Star Forces and my appointment as Supreme Commander of the fledgling First Task Force of the time. I look at my children; I originally created them as a means of new life, but as Mryden and Mordigon grew I saw them less as new life forms and more of my own family. When Annalisa was born, they officially are my children, now I will be bringing home their new baby sister and their mother.

Before I could go any further my comm. line opened, _Commander, you are needed on the Starboard fleet deck. Family threatened._ With those two words I bolt from my office and run for the deck, using the transport chambers along the way to get there as fast as possible. The moment I enter the deck I see some of the children from Medical and the Deck Crew up in arms. I quickly approach and see several Colonial Marines and civilians by a Colonial shuttle, but what has my eye is Laura and Amanda up against the shuttle. "Marines report, what in the name of creation is happening on this deck?" One of the Colonials and one of my own marines approach, Lt. Klyne went first, "Sir, the Colonial Marines here have been ordered to move all of the Geminese children off the ship. What got us involved is that one of the civvies tried to take Little Laura out of NCO Williams arms, when she refused the civvie slapped her and ordered that she be brought along and removed from the Aurora as a criminal."

I turn to the Colonial for confirmation, "Is this true marine?" The Sergeant looked back for a moment to the civilian leader present and then to me, "Yes Sir, Mr. Limpson ordered the release of the Geminese child from your crewman's hands. When she refused he struck her and ordered that we arrest her for disobeying Geminese law." I look towards the Chief and signal him to lock the deck keeping the Colonial shuttle here until things are dealt with. "Okay son, let me ask you this, what is the crime that NCO Williams is being charged with and the legal punishment?" The marine seemed oddly uncomfortable before answering, "Well Sir, to be honest I am not certain of the charges but I can tell you this much unless it is a crime that involves murder the general Geminese punishment is that the offender becomes the property of the person that they have wronged."

Slavery as punishment, that I will not tolerate under any circumstances "Lt. Klyne, you and your marines are to secure the Colonial shuttle and arrest the civilians whom have either stuck or threatened NCO Williams immediately. The charge is threatening of a Star Forces officer, if any Colonial attempts to interfere arrest them on charges of obstruction of justice." "Sir, yes Sir" Lt. Klyne moved quickly to follow the orders I have just issued while the Colonial Marine stared at me with wide eyes. I ignore him and move towards my family, before I can reach them a civilian steps into my path "Commander, what in the name of the gods are you thinking? I am a member of the Quorum of Twelve and the Official Geminese Representative of this fleet; if you interfere any further I will have your commission over this." I look angrily into his eyes, "Sir, you have over stepped your authority and have assaulted an officer of the Star Forces, as thus you will be arrested and will remain in the brig for no less than three hundred and sixty-five days."

Mr. Limpson staggered back but then returned my glare with one of his own, "Commander, I am relieving you of duty and ordering that you be arrested. I will have competent Commander take your place on board this battlestar." I made no move and neither did the marines on the deck, for just a moment we glared at each other before I spoke, "Mr. Limpson, I am not a Colonial; hell I am not even the same species as you and you will not threaten my crew or my family. As of the moment you stepped aboard this ship you became bound by the laws of the Great Races Alliance, in sort you have forfeit all rights that you might have had as a diplomat from a foreign star nation the moment you assaulted a member of the Star Forces." Stepping closer to him, I spoke load enough for the entire deck to hear me "As of this moment I am willing to let you off with a warning if NCO Williams chooses not to press charges." That was when Mr. Limpson lost it, "It press charges, that is my property as per Geminese law and it will obey my orders." I pulled out my sidearm and pointed it directly at his head, speaking to him "Sir, as of this moment you have lost any chance at leaving this ship without proper punishment. As Supreme Commander of the Galactic Star Forces First Task Force of the Great Races Alliance, I here by place you under arrest for the crimes of Assaulting a Star Forces Officer and Attempted Enslavement of a Sentient Being. Both crimes carry a minimum punishment of one year confinement in a penal facility and a maximum punishment of five years for Assaulting a Star Forces Officer. For the crime of Attempted Enslavement the maximum punishment is confinement for a standard two hundred years along with Genetic Lockout of your Reproductive Functions."

The Colonials looked at me as if I had grown a second head and one of the marines asked, "What is Genetic Lockout of Reproductive Functions?" I spoke without looking away from Mr. Limpson's eyes, "That means we remove his ability to have children, while we extend his life and enhance his health to ensure that he serves out his sentience. In short we will genetically enhance him to the point of being super-human in life functions but remove the ability to pass on those enhanced functions." Mr. Limpson seemed to smirk before I continued, "After his sentience is over, we will remove those enhanced healing abilities while at the same time altering his genetic structure to remove the pain inducement function for the Genetic Lockout of his Reproductive Functions." Now he looked angry at me and yelled "What in Hades does that mean?" "Simply put, to ensure that you do not take advantage of the obvious sexual enhancements we program into the pleasure center of your brain that each time you become aroused even in the slightest you will feel intense pain. This in turn is standard punishment for sexual offenders in my civilization, if you think about it we actually force you to reflect on your past actions." By this time the majority of the Colonials have moved away from me or Amanda and Laura, more than likely hoping to avoid such punishments from me.

Mr. Limpson snarls at me, obviously he is not happy about the way things are going but before anyone could do anything we all heard a yell coming from the deck hatchway. "Commander, I want these men spaced immediately!" That can only be Hiendol; the Colonials must have done something stupid for Hiendol to want them out in the endless expanse of space without Atmosphere Shields. The Colonials froze in shock at the sight of the little gray alien that now peddled her way across the deck to her patients, while the children cheered at Hiendol's appearance. Moving as quickly as her body is capable Hiendol ushers the children back towards Medical, the Colonial adults remain unmoving during the entire process. As the last of the children leave the deck with Hiendol, I turn my attention back to the matter at hand, "All other Colonials that have accompanied Mr. Limpson here are here by ordered to leave the Aurora or you will be arrested. Additionally just so you know, Mr. Limpson's actions today have just placed the entire fleet in a position where you will loss any and all protection of the Star Forces if he is not punished and a proper hand written apology is not delivered to the Star Forces from the Quorum of Twelve within the next six standard hours. Marines take this human filth to the brig before I decide to end his existence."

The marines restrained Mr. Limpson and removed him from the deck while the other Colonials were forced into their shuttle and ordered to leave. I moved over to Amanda and hugged her tightly with Laura between the two of us; I guided them away for the shuttle and toward my, no after this it will definitely be our quarters. I am going to keep my girls as close to me as possible, "Amanda, Laura are you two okay?" Amanda sniffled "John, oh John they wanted to take Laura away and when I refused to let them take our daughter, that man slapped me and said I was now his property to do with as he pleased." I pulled them close to me, re-ensuring them that everything is going to be okay and that Mr. Limpson will be dealt with. As we entered our quarters, the comm. on my desk beeped; hesitantly I moved to answer it "This is Phoenix go ahead."

_Commander Phoenix, this is Caine. What the frak happened over there, I have the Quorum demanding you be arrested and that someone of their choosing take command of the Aurora. I have managed to get them to hold off on calling for the Aurora to be handed over to them but I need to know what happened._

"Commander, Mr. Limpson over step his authority and assaulted a member of my crew. To be honest I am uncertain of how things work for the Colonies, but for the majority of star nations such actions are not tolerated. He had planned on taking my crewman as a slave for his personal usage; this is also something that we do not tolerate. Mr. Limpson is now going to spend the time remaining of our journey to Star Forces space in the brig of my ship."

_Phoenix, I understand about the assault and slavery being crimes for you but you need to understand that unless you can convince the Quorum of your laws, they will order that you hand over your crewman for him to own and you to hand over command of the Aurora to them. I will do everything that I can to keep that from happening, but I am going to need some help for that to happen._

"Caine, it is as simple as this; unless the Quorum of Twelve Officially Apologies before the entire fleet to NCO Williams, I will under my authority from the Home World of All Human Life, the Planet Earth in the Milky Way Galaxy and capital of the Great Races Alliance, I will leave this fleet to their own devices and set course for home. Caine, I still want to help your people, but with the Quorum I might just have to shatter your culture and force the truth into the light to do that."

_Phoenix, what are you talking about? Are you from Earth and why call it the Home World of All Human Life?_

"Yes Caine I am from Earth, so you know I am not human and my people lived on Earth millions of years ago. We colonized Kobol millions of years ago, and The Lords of Kobol are my species Lanteans. Trea and her fellow survivors, fifteen of them are what you would call Lords of Kobol. Caine to save this fleet I might have to destroy your people's religion, history and culture to do so; I would rather not have to do that."

_By the Gods, okay I will be over there in the hour and we will discuss everything then, we don't want anyone else hearing this._

"I will see you within the hour then, but please note that any and all Colonial traffic to and from the Aurora outside of your Raptor is now being stopped until this issue is resolved. Aurora Out." I close the connection and move back to Amanda and Laura, but before I leave my desk I grab the pad with the crew bunking assignments. "I'm sorry, but that was Commander Caine on the line." "John what is going to happen to us?" I place my hands on Amanda's shoulders, "Trust me, Caine and I will get this dealt with or I will leave this fleet to the Cylons and get this ship home. But until Caine is over here, we are going to make a few changes to the bunking assignment for you; as of this moment, with your permission of course these will be your new quarters." Amanda stared at me for a moment before shaking her head and pulled me and Laura into a hug; I held both of them close for at least seven minutes before I felt Laura fall asleep. Silently we moved Laura to the bed and laid her down, Amanda quickly followed Laura into the land of dreams and I covered them both with the blanket.

I sit down at my desk and open the intra-ship comm. line to Security, for the first time since the formation of the Star Forces I am ordering a marine guard on my quarters. Even if I trust Caine, I am not going to let any Colonial that I do not trust near my family for any reason. After ensuring that the marines will remain on station and ensure that they remain with Amanda and Laura at all times I move to the deck to welcome Caine whom will be arriving within the next ten minutes. As I return to the deck I see Commander Caine and several men and women from the Anchorage Populace Registry and some unknown to me. "Commander perhaps we should move to one of the Conference Rooms?" Caine nodded in agreement and we moved to the pilot conference room, there I am introduced to the people whom accompanied him. "Commander Phoenix, you already know the staff from Populace Registry, but let me introduce you to Mr. Kepler with his assistant Miss Micheals. They are the lawyers that I have requested to assist us in this matter and of course the Quorum has sent their representatives Miss Ilosin and Mr. Colson."

I nodded in acknowledgement of each of them, unfortunately we did not leave dock with any members of the JAG onboard but Caine's quick thinking should help in that. Mr. Kepler went first, "While we were waiting for the Quorum representatives, I had time to speak with Populace Registry. It seems that even through Geminese children are not registered within the Survivors List, a Laura Mazikowski is. She is listed as Geminese in birth, but with foster parents from the Aurora's crew; we shared this with the representatives during the flight over." Miss Ilosin jumped on that, "Yes I remember, but still that does not excuse Commander Phoenix's behavior or disobeying the order he was given when he was relieved of duty." I held my hand before speaking, "Miss Ilosin, members of the Quorum can not give orders to Star Forces officers. The Galactic Star Forces are a military power belonging to a star nation separate of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol." Miss Ilosin looked at me oddly before she continued, "Are you telling me that you will not follow orders like a soldier should?" "No, I will follow orders of my superiors but until we reach Pegasus, Ida or Milky Way galaxies I am the ranking Star Forces officer within this fleet. In short I am the last word on any and all orders for members of the Star Forces; we have formed only a temporary alliance with this fleet to help your people."

Miss Micheals stood and started speaking, "I believe that the officer in question has legal right to press changes against the Geminese Representative for assault." Mr. Colson heatedly replied "Are you trying to sell out your own Quorum Representative? You're a Geminese and should know that Mr. Limpson is in the right and Commander Phoenix is not." Miss Micheals is a Geminese? "Actually Mr. Colson because Mr. Limpson was aboard the Aurora and not a Geminese ship is why I say that. I might be from Geminon but it does not mean I will side with people from my Colony, you see according to the Revised Articles of Colonization any colony laws that a victim or attacker attempt to use from his or her home colony will not apply unless they can prove beyond a doubt that their life was in danger. This is only in affect as long as it is not their home colony, or in short a ship from their home colony and because this ship is not from Geminon Mr. Limpson must prove beyond a doubt that the officer in question threatened his life."

I smiled at that, I was the one that threatened him so at least Amanda is safe from him. "What about the Commander here, he arrested Mr. Limpson without due cause?" I looked to Miss Ilosin, she must be gunning for something, but the question is what? Mr. Kepler answered this time "Actually, from what I have gathered so far it was only after threatening a member of the Aurora's crew did the Commander act in any form rashly. I will have to read the particulars on Star Forces law, but I believe that he would have acted within the confines of the law." For the next hour and a half we continued on, mainly the lawyers passed one argument after another countering each others means of bring this to their favor. I spent the time thinking about how I could get the Quorum to apologize to Amanda while they argued. Finally Miss Ilosin said something that caught my attention "Well he is a Colonial like the rest of us, it is not like he is from another galaxy. It would take years for anyone to travel to the edge of the galaxy, I am certain that his mentioning of galaxies earlier was actually meant nebulas."

I sigh loudly, "I meant Galaxies, unlike this little hick galaxy in the middle of nowhere. And before you say another word, one I am not human I am a Lantean; number two, I am starting to get tried of all these laws that Earth itself has outlawed and finally three, why are you people practicing slavery still? Did you not learn your lesson when the Cylons rebelled and the First Cylon War took place?" This caused them to stop their argument for a few minutes as they looked at me in a strange form of interest. Mr. Colson was the first to recover and ask "Are you saying that you're an Alien and that you are from another galaxy? No wait the first thing is impossible, as for the Earth thing okay perhaps you know will the Thirteenth Tribe is." I shook my head with another sigh and replied, "Okay, I guess it is time to start shattering your culture. One yes I am what you would call an Alien, two I am from another galaxy, for the Star Forces inter-galactic travel has been possible for years. Next the Thirteenth Tribe never found the Earth you are thinking of, the Earth itself is in another galaxy. I should know, I live on Earth and Earth colonized Kobol and not the Colonial mind set of Earth as a colony of Kobol." They now sat in front of me frozen in their seats, of course that would happen in you start shattering peoples culture, religion or history let alone all three at once.


	17. Chapter 17 Frightening Truths

Frightening Truths – Shattering the Past

T-Plus One Hundred and Twenty-Two Days from Geodesic Jump

Everyone sat there staring at me, I can not blame them after all I just took a planet sized hammer to their cultural beliefs. Caine seemed to be the one taking this the best out of all of them; of course he did have a heads up on this. I am certain that at least a few of them now think that I am crazy, after all for them Kobol has been the recorded origin of humans since the beginning of time. But with all of the arguing and the beliefs that the Aurora and her crew are from the Colonies have to stop. Miss Ilosin looked sharply at me, "Commander you must be out of your fraking mind. Earth is a legend at best and even if it does exist, then I am certain that it was colonized by people from Kobol." Okay, perhaps shattering their culture without visual proof was not such a good idea, "Guess I need to show you the star maps from the city of Kobol. Aurora, please project the star maps."

Without a word the star maps from Kobol are projected above our heads, the images of entire galactic groups appeared. It is the group that has the symbol of Kobol above it that I look towards, 'the Colonials having little to no knowledge of Lantean or Gate script.' "This galaxy is the one we are currently in" as I said that I used the control panel to zoom in one said galaxy. Caine looked closely for a moment before he spoke, "That symbol there, is that the marker for Kobol?" I nod in confirmation to his quire and continue until I am able to show them an image from one of the ships that accompanied Kobol to this galaxy. We were fortunate enough to clean up some of the data from the damaged data crystals, but one thing still bothers me is the fact that this galaxy was not fully mapped. From my point of view that meant anything could be out there from more dead worlds to species that would blow us from the stars as talk to us.

Mr. Colson asked "Commander just what are you showing us?" For a moment I thought out an answer that would be easy enough for them to shallow. "This is what Kobol has mapped of this galaxy," typing a command on the console the view changed to that of the galactic group in which the Star Forces call home. "This map you are now looking at is the galaxies of Ida, Pegasus and Milky Way; it is here in the spiral arm of the Milky Way that Earth resides." Zooming in on the Sol System and Earth each of the Colonials gasped as they looked at a system in which had a world with a close match to the descriptions given in their Sacred Scrolls. Miss Micheals looked to me "Commander, if that is Earth then why show us now and not from the beginning?" I locked the display and entered the command to display Halla and Lantea, as the worlds displayed I spoke "Simple, the world with mostly land mass is Halla the Asgard home world in Ida and the other world in which is mostly ocean surface area is Lantea, but most of us just call it Atlantis after the city there."

Once more they sat silent while I thought of my next move, but Miss Ilosin had spoken this time with a statement that I find offensive. "Commander, this only further proves to me that you need to follow the orders of the Quorum and the Laws of the Colonies." I sigh once again, will these people ever grow up, "Miss Ilosin, I am showing you this to make it clear to you that not every humanoid being is going to obey you or even humor you in that regard. I am going to get straight to the point, back home we have had a great deal of wars and most of those have been based around the continuation of a way of life or its end. For the peoples of Milky Way and Pegasus, two major wars were fought with this as there premise." Caine smiled at my statement; perhaps this will push things over the edge and get the results I need without to much damage being done.

"Commander Phoenix, can you please explain these wars to us?" Mr. Kepler asked with notable professionalism, and so I answered "Of course, the first was the Gou'ld War but it is commonly known as the Jaffa Rebellion. You see for over six thousand years the Gou'ld used humans as slaves, some as labor but a group was chosen and genetically modified to become foot soldiers. These became the Jaffa, hundreds of thousands of Jaffa fought and killed each other in the name of what they were led to believe was their god. After countless centuries of this, some started to question these gods; but they were few in number and their history, culture and religion were all made to re-enforce the belief that the Gou'ld are gods. Basically you can say that the Jaffa were the organic version of the Cylons from over forty years ago." This caused Caine to sigh and Miss Micheals to gasp, the others remained silent waiting for me to continue.

"It was not until a little over five years ago that the Jaffa whom had to hide longing for freedom gained the aid they needed. You see, five thousand years ago the Gou'ld Ra was forced off of Earth by his own slaves; he took what we call the Stargate with him. This effectively locked us out of the galactic theater, but he did not for see that my people the Lanteans had already arrived on Earth five thousand years before that and had hidden ourselves amongst them. So over the course of the next five thousand years my people lived and worked as if we were humans, we in a sense forgot about our history. A select few such as myself have what is known as Genetic Memory, this allowed us to remember who we are and hide at the same time. It was not until Earth reached the Industrial Age that we could setup a network to monitor the area around Earth."

I am certain that this history lesson should help as well, "It was before the Industrial Age that Earth also practiced slavery, but it was never with our own children but with people of different ethnic births. Eventually the area known as the United States fought a massive civil war at the time that slavery became outlawed. You see the country, who had been quickly becoming a power on Earth was split in two over the practice of slavery. I am not saying that over night things changed, in fact it took almost a hundred years after slavery was abolished in the United States for the former slaves and their families to gain any real rights under the law. Over half of the Middle East as we call it continued practicing only until the past few years themselves. The United States had set a premise amongst the Earth, and especially so after the Second Planetary War that we call World War II. The military forces had incorporated the descends of those whom were once slaves into our fighting forces, and no they were not ordered per-say but volunteered to join the fight. It was that war in which Earth changed the most and started towards a united government like the Colonies after the First Cylon War." Miss Ilosin gave me a small smirk and nodded for me to continue forwards, perhaps she will gain some insight to help lead the people of the fleet.

"Both the United States Civil War and the Gou'ld War was fought to free slaves from those who saw them as nothing but property. This of course was much better than the war with the Wraith, the Wraith allowed a form of freedom but of course we do the same with the animals that we once killed for their meat so that we could eat." Caine stopped me there, "Phoenix do you mean to say that these Wraiths are cannibals?" I shook my head and replied, "In the meaning of the word no, but in the basic sense of the word yes. You see the Wraith do not have the bodily functions required to digest foods like we do, instead they drain life energy out of their food and add it to their own. The people of the Pegasus galaxy for over Ten Thousand years faced the Wraith threat, every three hundred years or so a group of hives would awaken and consume a portion of their human herd. Once again a major war for human rights due to slavery was fought, but in this war losing meant not losing your freedom to live but your freedom of how you get to die. Of all the major wars fought by the Galactic Star Forces or the people of Earth in general, it is these three wars that stand out the most in human rights violations." Mr. Colson looked at me with an odd expression on his face before he whispered something into Miss Ilosin's ear.

I waited for Miss Ilosin to say something but what I got was not what I had expected, "Commander, if all of this is true then we have to keep this from the people of the fleet." "I agree Miss Ilosin, but I must still insist on the formal hand written apology from the Quorum to NCO Williams" She was about to speak but I held my hand up and continued, "Additionally word is more than likely spreading about Hiendol." Caine looked me in the eye and asked "What about your CMO, how is she involved in this?" "Commander did you not yet hear about the little gray person whom led the children off the deck?" The all nodded their heads in an affirmative and I said, "That was Hiendol, she is an Asgard and for as long I can remember their skin has been a gray tint." That definitely is going to cause some rumors throughout the fleet for at least few weeks yet, but not all things occur as we would prefer. Miss Ilosin "Is she, this Hiendol an alien?" I respond with an affirmative and allow Miss Ilosin to continue, "Then it might be too late to say aliens don't exist but for the fleet let's not mention that you're an alien." That is something I can accept with ease and then there are other members of the crew whom will prefer that their heritage remains a secret from the fleet also.

"That is agreeable Miss Ilosin, but the apology to NCO Williams is still going to be required. Now if you need my assistance to convince the other members of the Quorum I will be more then willing to help." Miss Ilosin shook her head "Actually I was given full authority by the rest of the Quorum to act as needed. I will have the apology written and hand delivered by the entire Quorum, but I will have to ask that NCO Williams comes to the Quorum chambers on the Olympus." As long as there is a consent transport beam lock on her beacon I see no harm, "Alright, I will have NCO Williams on the Olympus but I am keeping Mr. Limpson in the brig until formal charges are processed and he is punished appropriately." Miss Ilosin looked like she was about to protest my decision to keep Mr. Limpson but she said nothing about him, instead "Perhaps Miss Williams can bring the little girl with her. I think it would be nice if the child got a chance to see the Olympus and after all she is a Colonial by birth." "I agree, I will bring them both in what two hours?" Miss Ilosin nodded in agreement but I have a feeling that this might be some form of trap to get what the Quorum wants, or I am just being paranoid.

I escorted the Quorum representatives back to the deck with Commander Caine, Mr. Kepler and Miss Micheals requested to remain onboard and read the documents pertaining to the Laws of the Great Races Alliance. As Miss Ilosin and Mr. Colson boarded the raptor Caine whispered to me, "Stay alert when you're on the Olympus, I don't know why but I get the feeling that they are going to try something." "Confirmed," and with a slight nod I move back from the raptor as Caine boards and they are moved to the lift. As I turn to head back towards the officers quarters the Chief calls me, "Commander I have something here for you." Looking at the Chief I see he is carrying a duffle-bag for some reason, he hands it to me "Here this is Amanda's things from her rack. Cally packed it for her and the gang brought it here for you to take to your quarters." How in the universe did they know, I haven't had the time yet to process the bunking assignment changes. Thanking the Chief I turn and leave the deck, walking through the ship everyone either smiled or passed me a confused look. Only the elder members of the family really understood my current cargo, while the newer members had to question why I am carrying a duffle-bag.

As I entered the corridor to my quarters I see the security officers I had assigned still in position and awaiting my return. There is one thing that seems odd thou, both officers appear to be holding in laughter for some reason and on the deck in front of the door appears to be some of the cushions from the couch. Ignoring that I open the door and without warning I am tackled to the deck on top of the cushions, looking down I see none other than Laura smiling at me. "Daddy what took you so long? Mommy is worried about you." I run my hand through her hair, "Laura did you put the couch cushions in the corridor?" Nodding her head at me both marines chuckle lightly "I see and I'm guessing that these two ground pounders helped out." Before they could answer Amanda entered the doorway, the look on her face said that we needed to talk. "Okay, marines babysitting duty; take Laura and let her have some fun with the kids down in Medical." Following their orders they escorted Laura towards Medical while I stepped up to Amanda, "I'm sorry I left you like that, but Caine and I managed to make some headway with the Quorum. In about two hours you, Laura and me are going over to the Olympus in order for the Quorum to properly apologize to you." For some reason Amanda seemed more then a little upset over that, "Amanda are you okay with that?" Amanda grabbed my arm and pulled me into our quarters and before I could say anything she wrapped her arms around me yelling "Don't you ever do that again. Do you know how afraid I was that someone might try and take Laura or even hurt you; do you even realize how afraid I am right now and now this. What makes you think that they will let us come back to the ship with Laura or even let me come back?" I put my hands on her shoulders, pushing slightly I look her in the eyes "Amanda more than likely they will try to keep Laura on the Olympus but I have already taken that into account. When we are over there I am planning on having Lt. Anderson keep a constant lock on us with the Transport Beam; Caine thinks they might be up to something and I agree." I pulled Amanda into my arms as I had been a second ago in hers, whispering into her ear "I wont let any one touch you or Laura I promise."

Not long afterwards Laura and the marines I have sent with her return and I inform her of our pending trip to the Olympus; to say that Laura is excited is like saying that the Ori have no sense of humor. As we leave our quarters I mention that our first stop will be the bridge, moving towards the command deck I notice that several of the marines seemed ready for combat; word of what happened on the deck must have filtered its way through the ship by now. Upon entering the bridge Colonel Hunter stood at attention awaiting my salute in return of hers, giving it briefly I begin to issue orders "As you may know by now the Quorum over stepped it's authority aboard the Aurora. NCO Williams with myself and Laura here will be going over to the Olympus in order for them to give a formal apology for their actions. Colonel as a precaution I want the SDUs and DSDs recalled to the ship and have Lt. Anderson keep a consent lock on us with the Transport Beam; we might be temporary allies but right now I don't trust the civilian leadership at the moment." The entire bridge crew confirmed their orders as I moved back to Amanda and Laura in order for us to go down to the deck for our ride to the Olympus.

We boarded the Jumper the moment we reached the deck, Lt. Skits apparently is on duty this rotation. That meant our pre-flight checklist was completed before we could even get to our seats, the Jumper Pilot being amongst the best onboard. As we cleared the bay a viper escort joined us, _Aurora Jumper this is Viper 3859 call-sign Lightening. Thumper and I are to escort you to the Olympus as per Commander Caine's orders._ Skits signaled back with an affirmative and his call-sign 'Postman' which got a few laughs from our escort. I remember how Postman had earned his call-sign; it was during the first border wars not many pilots dared risk their ships attempting to deliver supplies into the middle of a battlefield, not that it stopped Skits and his favored line 'I deliver no matter the danger' earned him the name. It took us roughly twenty minutes from the time our escorts appeared to reach the Olympus in the middle of the fleet near the Anchorage. We were given priority landing clearance, as we waited for the airlock to cycle I thought about what to do while we awaited the Quorum to apologize. It took roughly ten minutes for the airlock cycle to complete and from there it would take another ten to fifteen minutes for us to reach the Quorum Chambers.

We had just entered the building housing the Quorum when Miss Ilosin emerged from what was obviously the Quorum Chambers. She walked over to me "Commander it is good to see you and Miss Williams are here and you have brought the child I see." The way she said that did not sit will with me but I refrained from making any comments that could damage the situation. She escorted us in to meet the rest of the Quorum, once inside I looked around to check the possible exits and resistance should they decide to try and keep my girls. Some of the marines I recognized from my time on the Anchorage weeks earlier, Caine more than likely had them in place for some time in order to have a heads up on what the Quorum might try to pull; it explains how he was ready for the Quorum's legal attempt on me and Amanda. Turning back to face the Quorum, I waited for them to start this meeting and I was not disappointed, "Commander and Miss Williams thank you for coming. I wish to on behalf of the Quorum of Twelve extend our apologies for what has transpired on the Aurora and the attempt on Miss Williams freedoms. We sincerely hope that this will not happen again." For some reason I feel something about this seems to be to easy, of all the years I have dealt with politicians I have never seen one bow this easily without trying something later. Looking towards Miss Ilosin, I notice an odd smile adorning her face as if, oh no; I move slightly closer to the girls ready to call for transport. "Miss Williams we also wish to thank you for taking care of the child, your actions to protect her is credit to your people." He signaled a guard on one side of the room, within moments I see what appears to be a couple enter. The Quorum Representative continues "Now then with our thanks I would like to introduce you to the child's new parents." Caine was right and Amanda immediately voiced her feelings on the subject, "What, no I am Laura's mother and no matter what you say that is not going to change." I move myself to be right in front of Amanda and Laura, looking towards the Quorum "What is the meaning of this? Miss Ilosin you did not mention this when we spoke aboard my ship and as of at least four hours ago Amanda and myself have been recognized as Laura's legal guardians or did you not speak with Populace Registry?"

Some of the Quorum turned their gaze towards Miss Ilosin while the representative merely smirked at us, he stepped closer "Commander you seem to think that you can keep a child aboard your ship. Is your ship not a Battlestar? So you see I am trying to help you keep control over you ship." Oi, what is with these people, "Mister" "Milan" I sigh before continuing "Mister Milan, first my ship and crew are more than capable of having children on board and continuing their duty. Second my ship has not or ever been a battlestar, the Aurora is a Warship and not to be mistaken for the under armed or armored ships you call a Warstar. From your point of view the Zeus is a warship, but from mine it is a glorified gunboat and even then it does not even come close to an actual gunboat of the Star Forces." This caught the attention of everyone in the room and Miss Ilosin started fidgeting, Mister Milan looked at me "So, you think a gunboat of yours is more powerful than the strongest Colonial Fleet ship class?" I shake my head before responding "Not think, I know a gunboat of the Star Forces is stronger; of course this can not be helped due to the fact you have had almost no real threats until the Cylons and even then that is only a threat to you. Trust me, in comparisons to some of our enemies would make the Cylons look like a child who did not get a new toy and threw a fit in response. The Ori, the Wraith, the Ida Replicators or the Gou'ld are more of a threat to a Star Forces ship than the an entire battle group of Cylon Basestars and Miss Ilosin has been given a small amount of this truth." That caused the rest save for Mister Milan to lay a heavy glare on Miss Ilosin. More than likely she must have been attempting to use this situation to her advantage, but my words appear to have damaged that attempt.

Mister Milan looked hard into my eyes probably trying to find any hint that I could be lying to him, not that I would need to in any case. The two of us stood there for a minute before he turned away to look at Miss Ilosin whom has been cornered by her fellow Quorum members. I took a moment to gaze towards the couple whom had been chosen by the Quorum to take Laura, the look in there eyes also did not sit well with me; it is like they are eyeing fresh meat. The male approached me while the female moved towards Amanda and Laura, "Commander, I am Joseph Wilanton and my wife is Amelia. We both what to thank you for taking good care of Laura these past few days and ensure you that she will grow up in a loving Geminese family." That right there is the only clue I needed to immediately take Laura and Amanda back to the Aurora, "Mister Wilanton perhaps I did not make myself clear before, Laura will be staying with me and her mother aboard our ship the Aurora." That earned me a heated glare from him but after staring down Gou'ld, Wraith and even Ori in battle this little man's glare means little to me. I take several steps back towards Amanda and Laura; Mister Wilanton is most likely thinking that I am affected by his glare. I place my hand on Laura after taping my comm. unit opening a link directly to the bridge of my ship, "While I am appreciative of the Quorum's attempts to assist in the discipline of my ship and thankful for the apology to Amanda, I must decline the offer for you to take care of my daughter." That had the desired affect on the Quorum, but the Geminese couple on the other had did not appear to take my statement as well.

Both Geminese appeared angered and seemed to be ready to voice their discontent with me when I simply "Lt. Anderson bring us home." Unfortunately I did not get to see their faces as we disappeared in a flash of light, but for me and Amanda we are happy to be back on our ship with Laura between us. Appearing directly on the bridge Laura looked left and right checking to see if her new parents are still present. Amanda hugged her close while I rubbed her head; the crew turned to face us and Charlie "Welcome home. I see that they tried to pull something" he focused on Laura "Well how did it feel being beamed back to the ship?" Laura looked at us before she looked to Charlie with a look saying 'I don't know', I shook my head "Okay, move us to three light minutes out. I want the Quorum to get a feel for what could happen if they decide to push their luck with us again. Lt. Anderson, maintain sensor scans on the fleet and be ready for rapid response to any possible threat." Moving Amanda and Laura into my Command Chair, I stand just to the right and continue issuing orders "XO, once we are clear of the fleet take us to max thrust. I want to show them just how fast our normal space drives are." Colonel Hunter signaled with a salute and began ordering all stations for max thrust, I am certain it will scare the pants off of the Quorum when they see us leave the fleet at speeds that should be impossible for them to follow.

We watched the fleet disappear from view as Charlie took us out of our position and made way for three light minutes distance clear of the fleet. After reaching a position outside of Colonial dradius, all we had to do was wait for the call from the Anchorage or the Zeus; both having been equipped with a subspace transceiver for FTL comms. Deciding that the children could use some fun I called down to Medical and asked Hiendol if I could take the kids to the Garden, we spent well over an hour playing before I was called back to the bridge. Upon my return I can hear yelling between my XO and what had to be a Colonial, more than likely a member of the Quorum. "XO report," taking a sharp look at me "Sir, I have the Quorum of Twelve and Commanders Walters and Caine on the line for you." I acknowledged and took my seat before announcing my arrival to the conversation, "This is Supreme Commander Phoenix."

_Commander, this is Quorum Representative Milan. Just what are you thinking leaving the fleet like that, I am ordering you to return immediately; with you out of position we are open to Cylon attack._

I glanced to Lt. Anderson only to find Lt. JG Millis manning Tactical; looking at the display I am able to make out a portion of the fleet. Satisfied that I am answering truthfully "Mister Milan, despite are change in position we can still confirm the safety of the fleet. Additionally we are close enough for rapid deployment of our fighters to cover the fleet with relative ease."

_Be that as it may, I still want the Aurora back with the fleet; the people need to know that our protectors are still with us._

"_Mister Milan, are you saying that the Colonial Fleet ships can not protect our people?"_

_I must agree with Commander Caine, does the Quorum have that little faith in the remnants of the Colonial Fleet Military that we need to keep the Aurora with us? And what about our new found brothers and sisters from the Cylons, do you not consider them protectors of the people?_

_That is not what I am saying._

"I must agree with Mister Milan on that statement, in a way; what I believe he is truly saying is that he wants the people of the fleet to know that the Quorum has control over the Aurora." We can hear Mister Milan attempting to find the words to counter my statement of his intended desires. I waited a few seconds before continuing "By you silence I take it that my statement is correct?"

_It is Commander, but also the people will feel safer with the Aurora amongst the fleet of this I am certain. Everyday when I turn on my television here on the Olympus, the image of the Aurora amongst the fleet relaxes me and gives me the feeling that we are going to be okay. I am certain that there are others throughout the fleet who feel the same as I do when they see the Aurora; so Commander, will you please bring the Aurora back into position within the fleet?_

"I will, but there is going to have to be some serious changes made. First I am going to insist that each ship select representatives to form a police force in order to protect the civilians. Second when aboard any ship of the Star Forces the people will obey the laws of the Great Races Alliances and will act as visiting members of a foreign star nation. And together the Quorum and the fleet Commanders will sit down and begin the layout for rebuilding your civilization, you may be refugees but you are still a people whom have had a proud history."

"_I agree with Commander Phoenix, that is why I have Populace Registry working on forming departments for Children Services, and looking for lawyers in order to rebuild our justice system. Also according to a report I received before your call, there are areas on Clouds Eleven and Twelve that can be put aside for families in order for us to lessen the strain on the over crowded ships."_

_I agree, but it is going to take time; but either way I agree._

"Than I will bring the Aurora back into conformation within the fleet, we will begin the rebuilding tomorrow. I suggest that only the most senior Commanders and the Quorum be involved in this for the moment." I signal Charlie to take us back to the fleet, as we change course and begin our return flight I consider how difficult this might be for the Colonials. But there is at least hope amongst the Frightening Truths of the Universe.


	18. Chapter 18 Titan Strength

Titan Strength – Return of the Girty Lou

T-Plus One Hundred and Fifty-Seven Days from Geodesic Jump

I moved quickly to the bridge; what could it be that they would go ship-wide in order to call me; I did not even get to finish my personal log entry. I passed several of the new Colonial Police whom have been training in police procedures and tactics in order to give the civilians a better sense of hope. I must admit that they are doing well for only being two weeks into their training, from what I saw yesterday I guess that they will be ready to return to their ships within the next month. Oddly enough it is the Quorum themselves having a fit with the formation of the Colonial Police Force and not the black-market operators that we have run across. At times I have to remind myself that even criminals would chose to have a police force then politicians, the prevailing argument from the Quorum is that we have the marines to deal with law enforcement. To me it sounds more like an attempt to build a dictatorship than a functioning civilian government, but then again which culture is different and the views on law enforcement do differ.

Entering the bridge I see that Captain Gaeta is at his console, "XO report" turning to face me Colonel Hunter gave me a puzzling look. "Sir, three minutes ago we detected a hyperspace window event fifteen light minutes out from the fleet." My train of thought derailed at that statement, someone other than us with hyperspace capabilities; did we hit the jackpot or pitfall of luck. "Commander, we sent SDU-002 to investigate and what we just got back, well I think you better look at the data." I moved over to the sensor console next to Lt. Anderson, on the screen is the conversation between SDU-002's sentient AI Core and Lt. Anderson with the XO.

Aurora SDU-002: _Arrival at coordinates confirmed; initiating sensor scan. Object detected, silhouette match to SDU design for Titan Class Vessel at 93.726 percent. Protocol states request for communications contact._

Aurora Sensor Console: _SDU-002, request for communications contact granted. Identify unknown contact and relay all communications back to ship._

Aurora SDU-002: _Confirmed, initiating contact now. This is Aurora SDU-002 to unknown contact please respond; repeating this is Aurora SDU-002 to unknown contact please respond._

Unknown Contact: _This is Girty Lou SDU-019 to the contact claiming to be Aurora SDU-002, please respond with SDU protocol identifier-codes or you will be fired upon._

Aurora SDU-002: _Identifier-code Alpha-Sierra-3-6-5-4-9-3-Hotel-Victor-Charlie-1-2, validate code with standard Star Forces IDC encryption 3-9-6-6-Foxtrot-1-1-5-Gamma-Zebra-3-3._

Unknown Contact: _Encryption code not recognized please state current encryption code._

Aurora SDU-002: _Standby, attempting communications with home ship Aurora. Command, requesting encryption codes to unknown contact claiming to be Girty Lou SDU-019._

Aurora Sensor Console: _SDU-002, use encryption code 3-9-7-5-Alpha-Hotel-Sierra-1-Gamma-5 and request answer to the following question. What television show is about a Doctor with the name of a type of residence?_

Aurora SDU-002: _Confirmed; contact claiming to be Girty Lou SDU-019, Star Forces IDC encryption 3-9-7-5-Alpha-Hotel-Sierra-1-Gamma-5. Additional request please answer the following; what television show is about a Doctor with the name of a type of residence?_

Unknown Contact: _Encryption codes and identifier-codes accepted and answer to inquiry is House M.D.; please confirm the character name for the staring role._

Aurora SDU-002: _Response is Doctor Gregory House; please transmit your identifier-codes. Encryption codes will be used for 3-9-7-5-Alpha-Hotel-Sierra-1-Gamma-5._

Unknown Contact: _Transmitting identifier-code Bravo-3-3-6-5-9-Sierra-Gamma-Lamda-1-5-3-3-9-Zerba-3-2._

Aurora Sensor Console: _SDU-002, IDC confirms as Girty Lou SDU-019 for pre-Ori War IDC. Standby for Commander to issue additional orders._

Aurora SDU-002: _Confirmed, will additionally request that Girty Lou SDU-019 await Commander as well. Girty Lou SDU-019, Aurora Commander is being briefed and will issue orders accordingly please standby._

Girty Lou SDU-019: _Confirmed, will await Commander of Aurora until return time to home ship in eight standard minutes._

I look back to my XO, "Is this confirmed?" Giving me an affirmative response, I look back at the conversation; is it really possible that the Girty Lou made it out of Regina alive? The last anyone saw of the Girty Lou was the Titan class ship attempting to escape via the hyper-drives; their shields were offline and standard drives practically destroyed by the Supergate structure. Admittedly it is possible that they got thrown here as well, but considering the shockwave from the collapse of Regina VI into a black-hole by the Ori; it was believed that the Girty Lou was destroyed while entering hyperspace. If somehow the Titan class ship not only survived the blast but got knocked all the way to here, than we could get some much needed help navigating this galaxy.

"Lt. Anderson, order Girty Lou SDU-019 to return to its home ship with the following message. To the ship claiming to be Girty Lou, this is the Aurora we request an open communications. Please attempt communications within the next twenty-four standard hours; we will remain at our current position until that time." I turn my attention to Ensign Louis "Ensign, contact the Anchorage and advise them that we will be moving the fleet ahead of schedule. Also inform Commander Caine that I will address the fleet Commanders and Captains as to the change at the pre-scheduled meeting two hours from now." Turning back to the Sensor Console just in time to witness Girty Lou SDU-019 jump into hyperspace, I have to consider what the appearance of the Girty Lou could mean for the fleet. This will be my prevailing thought for at least the next few hours.

I find myself now two hours after the contact with Girty Lou SDU-019 in the meeting with the Senior Fleet Commanders. This meeting just happens to be taking place on the Aurora allowing me to be readily available for when the Girty Lou attempts contact. Out of the hundred and twenty some odd ships the Senior Commanding Council as it is called is formed of the major defenders of the fleet and three civilian representatives. The civilian representatives are from Clouds Eleven and Twelve and the Olympus, from the military there is Commander Caine from the Anchorage, Commander Walters from the Zeus, from the Columbia class Battlestars is Commander Langston with Commander Mitchell representing the Guardian class and Commander Nillis from the Roanoke for the Mercury class. We are just sitting down when Commander Nillis "So Commander, what is with the sudden schedule change? Did we not all agree that we would wait at least another three days before moving on; why cut two days off now and not before?" I guess now is the best time as any, "The sudden change has been brought forward due to contact with Girty Lou SDU-019." Mitchell was the first to jump at the question "Does that mean we are nearing Star Forces controlled space?" I shake my head in a negative response before stating "No, you see the Titan class vessel Girty Lou was presumed lost with all hands around three years ago. Girty Lou SDU-019 has thus far proven that the Girty Lou has survived and is more than likely operating under the assumption that they are in enemy controlled space. We do not know what her current status is or even if the crew is still alive, but will should find out within the next twenty-two hours."

Each of us took a moment to consider the Girty Lou and her possible place within the fleet before I continued with the briefing. "The Girty Lou is a Titan class Recon/Scout ship and is equipped for prolonged field operations. To that end the Girty Lou carries a standard crew of one hundred and thirty-seven sentients outside of the AI Cores of the ship and SDUs. The ship serves a secondary role of a Rescue ship, the Titan class is designed with the ability to house roughly five hundred sentients when required." Pulling up a holographic display of the Titan series, we all see the basic design of a Titan class ship. "Ranging at five hundred fifty-three meters in length by one hundred fifty meters width and ninety-three meters height; the Titan class is designed mainly for stealth operations similar to a Stealthstar. The rear section on both port and starboard store the SDU bays which in total carry thirty Sentient AI Core equipped SDUs; this allows the ship an extended sensor range that even out classes the Aurora class warships." Caine looked over the data, then turning to me "Commander let me ask, even if have of these SDUs are still operational and the Girty Lou does rendezvous with the fleet what are we looking at in terms of combat abilities?" Pulling up the weapons system specifics "Titan class ships are equipped with linier Hell-Dart launchers at mid-ship along the dorsal hull. The linier aft launchers are equipped with only Wombats and Sledgehammers, numbering at a total of ten and they carry only two Corenthos heavy missile launchers and those are located on the SDU bays furthest from the main hull. As I mentioned earlier the Titan series is a Recon/Scout ship and there for does not carry the pure armed capabilities of even a dedicated battlecrusier let alone a warship of the line like the Aurora."

The civilians mumbled to each other before I could continue, "Mind you her current status is still unknown but a fully equipped and operational Titan class ship still carries enough fire power to render a planet uninhabitable for decades if required." That caught everyone's attention and Commander Nillis "Are you saying that a lightly armed Star Forces ship has the ability to nuke an entire planet?" I acknowledge his question with "You can say that, the Girty Lou disappeared during the Ori War and at the time Star Forces ships were equipped with Mark 7 Corenthos Planet-Killer missiles. At the time the order was given we were losing the war in a bad way and killing a planet seemed to be one of the few tactics that worked against the Ori." Everyone looked at me in shock at the mention of killing planets was a tactic that we used against an enemy. "Allow me to explain it better; the Ori are as you might put them demi-gods but closer to demons. They had an entire galaxy of human worshippers to draw live energy to gain power from, but when we accidentally made contact with someone in the Otheila Galaxy they learned about us and decided to add new worshippers to gain more power. Mind you up until this time our version of these beings wanted us to develop on our own with no interference from the high plains of existence; to that end they hid us from the Ori but did not stop us from accidental contact. The Ori had a policy of either you follow their teachings or you die and trust me when a people refused to follow Origins the Ori made them suffer."

Before any of them could ask how I pulled up the image of one of the outer colony worlds that belonged to the Tollan. "This was a colony world of nearly half a million sentients; the people called the Tollan had colonized this world before the loss of Tollana when the neighboring human world was destroyed and shifted Tollana's orbit. The Ori through the use of their Priors made contact two months into the war, but officially this is where the war started. The Prior attempted to convert the people to follow Origins, when they refused after the Prior returned a week later for their answer he released a plague that wiped out the entire colony save for one person. This persons name is Reese and she is an android, basically a less advanced humanoid Cylon closer to the complete robotic Cylons than the organic ones. The Tollans had repaired Reese and she had been adopted by one of the Tollan scientists about a year earlier; the destruction of the colony marked the second time that Reese had to watch her home be destroyed." Langston quietly spoke "Poor girl" with invoked nods from several others before I continued, "After we rescued Reese and returned her to New Tollana where the rest of her adopted family still lives, Star Forces Command authorized the use of Planet-Killer and Gate-Buster missiles. Some of the worlds decided to bow down to the Ori and others fought against them, the worlds of the Great Races Alliance were locked off from the gate network save for Regina VI."

"Commander, what happened at Regina VI? I remember you saying that you had to get two million people out, but what actually happened to the planet and what is the gate network?" Commander Walters asked from across the table, I sighed before answering "The gate network is properly called the Stargate Network; a Stargate allows people to move from one planet to another between star systems without the use of a ship and there are even trans-galactic gates that allow people to travel to entirely different galaxies. We had been locking off the gates to each of the major home-worlds and colonies from the rest of the gate network; Regina VI being amongst the last on the list we did not realize that a Prior had gated to the planet from the Ori home galaxy until we attempted to lock Regina VI out of the network. We made contact and learned that the defense team at the gate was dead and that a shield had been erected to keep us from manually shutting it down. The defense forces of the Regina system reported that every time they managed to weaken the shield, it suddenly grew in coverage area and strength. We evacuated the planet and attempted to detonate a Gate-Buster warhead to destroy the Stargate itself; the Ori took that into account and we played right into their hands." I changed the image to that of the remains of Regina VI, "This is Regina VI now, nothing more than a black hole, luckily Regina II is a far enough distance away from the Regina VI orbital path that the ten million sentients of Regina II are able to remain on their world. It is the battle at Regina VI that marked the tide in the war, up until that time the Ori had yet to field a fleet or army." That definitely got their attention, even causing all of the military officers to fish gasp at my statement with Mister Ellis asking "What, you mean to tell me you were basically losing this Ori War and the enemy did not even field a fleet or army; that's impossible."

I shook my head before replying "Actually the first stage of the war for the Ori was aimed at setting up a worshipping base in our area of space. The Priors were their first line and additionally the Priors are the priests of Origins the Ori religion. It was only after a set number of worlds began to worship the Ori did they move to setup a two way connection between our galaxies; you see up until the battle at Regina VI the Priors had been on one way missions, once they entered our gate network they could not return home. The only stargates capable of the power generation required to gate to the Ori home galaxy of Otheila are in the hands of the Great Races Alliance home-worlds." Caine drew our attention with "Makes sense to me, these Ori planned to fight a war on a distance front; if it were me I would setup a base of operations and then secure a supply line before moving in any of my major forces." The other commanders seemed to agree with Caine's statement and the civilians mumbled amongst each other for another few minutes while I prepared to return to the main subject of the Girty Lou, how every we are interrupted by the Watch Office Captain Kozuki. _Commander, we have just established an open connection to the Girty Lou; your presence is requested on the bridge._ I quickly excused myself and made my way to the bridge; glancing back for a moment only to discover everyone safe for the civilian council members are following me to the bridge.

Ignoring them I enter the bridge and assume command from Captain Kozuki, "Ensign prepare to open the connection; Lt. Anderson do we have them on sensors?" The Lieutenant glanced at his screen before replying "Yes, they are fifteen light years out at point Alpha-Foxtrot-Sierra by 5-Bravo-Delta-3. At their current distance I can't give you much, but from what I can tell it looks like primary power is offline and I am picking up something weird; I can't be certain but it looks like some form of Gravity Drive is operating as a sublight drive." A gravity drive, during the development of the gravitic-magneto drive technology gravity drive technology was developed but also abandoned because of the affects on the power systems and space-frame. The must have been desperate if they decided to use a technology we decided to abandon in favor of other methods of propulsion. With a quick signal to the Ensign currently manning the comm. the connection opened to show what looked to be the remains of a bridge after a fierce ship to ship combat. "This is Supreme Commander Phoenix of the Warship Aurora of the Galactic Star Forces First Task Force, is the commander of the Girty Lou available at this time?" For a few moments none of the crew on the Girty Lou seemed to respond but than a young Colonel of Asian decent stepped forward.

_I am sorry but Commander Chekhov died last year leaving me in command. I am Colonel Alexandria Kelms, formerly Captain; we lost the majority of the senior staff during the past three years. Before the Commander died he promoted me under battlefield conditions and gave me full clearance along with Mu to the command codes._

"I am sorry to hear about your loses; can you give me a status update on the Girty Lou?" I do feel for the young Colonel, to not only loss the majority of the command staff but to also be thrust into a command level position without the years of training and in unknown space at that.

_Yes Sir, as of this time we are combat capable but to be honest we can barely stand toe to toe with a Jaffa Al'Kesh and at the moment without dry-dock repairs we stand no chance against a Ha'Tak class ship. Over half of the Hell-Dart launchers are either offline or damaged beyond field repair; we have nearly sixty percent of our CIWS arrays and the rear linier missile launchers are barely functional. Only SDUs 007, 013, 019, 023, 025 and 030 are currently flight capable while the majority of the others are in varies states of repair with 001 to 004, 017 and 018, with 026 to 029 nearing completion and can be in flight within the next two days._

She looked away for a moment before continuing with her report.

_We have lost primary power when the core scrammed during our last battle with the Ashen, but we were able to salvage an Ashen gravity drive and lash it to the ship in order to regain our sublight propulsion. Currently we have a remaining crew count of eighty-nine out of the original one hundred and thirty-seven member crew; we lost eight during the escape from Regina VI orbit of which the ship's XO were amongst them. During our encounters with the Ashen from nine months into arrival to eight months ago we lost another thirty-seven crew from boarding actions by the Ashen; two died from planetary infections and the Commander died from radiation poisoning due to firing the Lowngreen without radiation shields eight months ago. Sir, also we have lost the ability to fire our First Strike weapon the Lowngreen; the Chief Engineer has managed to build a low grade Valiant to act as a temporary replacement for the Lowngreen._

From the report thus far it seems that the Girty Lou has been running itself ragged trying to survive here, and these Ashen must have developed in one of the areas not mapped by Kobol. "Colonel, what is the status of your hyper-drives and sensor systems?" This is the question of the hour for me and a number of the Aurora's engineering crew.

_Sir, to be honest during the first year or so we were basically blind as a bat, and we barely could travel eight light years before the hyper-drive started to take damage. It took us roughly two years to determine the cause for this odd hash that has saturated hyper and subspace; Sir to be honest this hash has also saturated normal space as well._

Normal space is also saturated by this hash, "Colonel have you identified the cause and developed a method of shielding against the hash?"

_Well Sir, truth be told there is no need to develop a shielding against this hash; it cause is tachyon particles. And to further explain perhaps you want to hear some of what we have recorded from the tachyon frequencies thus far?_

Before I could ask some form of transmission replaced the view of the Girty Lou's bridge, it appeared to be a static filled image but started to clear enough to make out the image of Earth and her moon. But the Halo station and from what I can see of Earth the Atlantic Continent is missing, then suddenly the view changed to show a battle between ships one side a shimming blue and the other a gun metal dark gray with all of them at roughly the size of the Aurora. That is when we heard someone speaking.

"_This is the famous Battle of the Line, which marked the end of the Earth/Minbari War; we now celebrate the nineteenth anniversary of the war's end and humanities survival. For the anniversary we sent ISN reporter Susan Gracyn to Babylon 5 in order to speak with the Minbari Ambassador Delenn and Captain John Sheridan whom once bitter enemies now working for a true peace between the different alien races and Earth."_

The image stream stopped and the Girty Lou returned to the screen, behind me the Colonial commanders whispered to each other and I considered what we had just seen. It was Commander Caine that brought me back to my surroundings by asking "Commander that was not your home-world I am assuming?" This brought the attention of the other commanders to me awaiting my answer, "No, that was not my Earth; but on the brighter side of things looks like we found a clue to the Thirteenth Tribe." This drew even more attention this time from my own crew, but I am truthful in my response to Caine's question but I still have my own. My questions will have to wait for another time the more important thing at the moment is to get the Girty Lou into the Anchorage dock and thus I turn to Commander Caine "Commander I would like to have access to Dock Charlie for the Girty Lou to under go repairs." Caine gave me a knowing smile before nodding his consent and moving over to the Comm. Station more than likely to order Dock Charlie prepared for an inbound ship. Turning back to the Girty Lou "Colonel, I want you to bring the Girty Lou to the rendezvous with the Aurora; we have with us a fleet of ships from this galaxy. They are primarily refugees but they still have a remnant of their civilizations military and it will be act the space station Picon Anchorage that you will dock and bring dry-dock repairs."

_Confirmed Supreme Commander and thank you, you have no idea how much this helps; but I have a question what is the status of the war against the Ori, everyone here is chomping at the bit to get home and help._

"Colonel, the war is long over and we won; the Ori were defeated by Marlin's weapon and an Ori artifact called the Ark of Truth. Apparently one Ori decided to help us and in the end the Ori lost their followers and the lone Ori fired a weapon designed to kill ascended beings that was designed by Marlin. We can discuss the details once the Girty Lou is in dock for repairs, we will be awaiting your arrival."

_Confirmed Sir, Girty Lou out._

With that the connection closed and now we await the Girty Lou's rendezvous with the fleet; I am certain that the people of the fleet will be asking about the appearance of the Girty Lou. And to that end I will have to deal with the Quorum again and that is a prospect that I do not look forward to, not one bit. I will have some fun though I will wait until the Girty Lou is in dock before facing the Quorum that way I can have Colonel Kelms with me so that they can have a better grasp of the truth that they can not control us as if we are Colonials.

With the Girty Lou joining the fleet we closed the meeting early and began to return to our respective commands with me joining Commander Caine enroot to the Anchorage. This has also given me a chance to look at the Girty Lou with my own eyes as we watch her move through the fleet towards the Anchorage with an escort of 302s and Vipers. The Girty Lou definitely has seen better days; her hull armor appears to have been breached in several sections; on her starboard side appears to be a linier rail gun similar to a proto-type Valiant. The drive section is what has my attention the most, attached to the underside of the ship is what looks like a fish rear fin colored an odd shade of Sea-Green; this must be the gravity drive from an Ashen ship. The Raptor pilot pushes us forward in order to land on the Anchorage before the Girty Lou docks; it is during our approach that I spy a civilian shuttle also on an approach to the Anchorage, if I had to guess it is someone from the Quorum.

My guess proved correct as both the Raptor and Shuttle cycled through together and as Commander Caine and I disembarked from the Raptor a yell came from across the deck. "Commander Phoenix," I groan recognizing the voice as being none other than Miss Ilosin and as we turn to face her it is confirmed. Before either Caine or myself could say a word Miss Ilosin starts in on us with "Commanders, what is this I hear about another ship joining the fleet? Further more what gives you the right to allow another ship to join us without consulting the Quorum?" I motion Caine to continue on without me while I deal with Miss Ilosin, "Miss Ilosin, the ship joining the fleet is none other than the Titan class Recon\Scout Ship Girty Lou of the Galactic Star Forces First Task Force. She is in need of repair and re-supply, afterwards she will take up position within the fleet to defend the civilians until we reach Star Forces controlled space." Her eyes widened at that and suddenly she grinned before "I see, well then let's get moving Commander after all we need to properly greet your follow Star Forces Officers." With that she moved off towards the docks; I can see it now, she is going to try something with the crew of the Girty Lou; she waived at me to join her.

After walking for nearly ten minutes to reach the dock from the landing deck, we had to wait for the Girty Lou to complete docking and for the pressure cycle to finish. During this time I continued to watch the dock crews and engineering teams from the Aurora prepare for the work ahead; the Girty Lou will be in dry-dock for at least a month if not longer more than likely closer to two or three months at the least. With a hissing sound the hatch into Dock Charlie swung open and we were admitted inside; stepping through Miss Ilosin stared in awe of a Titan class ship up close and personal, I had the same reaction my first time. Stepping up to Miss Ilosin I tapped her shoulder and pointed towards the catwalk that would take us to the Girty Lou's docking port. As we reached the catwalk at the top of the flight of stairs Miss Ilosin stepped outside of the Anchorage's gravity bubble with me just behind her; unfortunately for her and to extension me is that she was not prepared for Zero G and with the next step pushed off the catwalk. I moved quickly while keeping one hand firmly attached to the railing and grabbed her with my free hand as she screamed "Someone help me!" "I have you Miss Ilosin just hold onto my hand and I will pull you back in," following my instructions she held tight while I pulled her towards me, slipping my foot into the lower railing I use my other hand to gently bring her to me. As I got her to me she immediately wrapped her arms around me as if clinging to life itself, her head buried into my shoulder all the while murmuring 'thank you'. "Miss Ilosin, are you okay?" She looked up at me; obviously this was her first time in Zero G but by the look in her eyes said more than a first timer in Zero G. "Thank you Commander; I was, well you noticed it right?" I nodded my head answering her with a yes, but why does she seem frightened still by now most people are past the fear a first time in Zero G causes. Her breathing is still ragged but is claiming somewhat, "Commander thank you for saving me, when I was younger my father took me to the Tauron Anchorage. There I lost my footing during a power outrage that caused the gravity to shutdown and flew into a bulkhead, every since I have been afraid of zero gravity." That explains why she is clinging to me like this, Zero G phobia but at least she is claiming down.

I look up to see a marine from the Girty Lou at the docking hatch, turning my attention back to Miss Ilosin "Do you want to meet the Girty Lou crew in the gravity area or do you think you are up to continuing to the Girty Lou?" She looked at me for a moment before answering "As long as you are with me and keep me from floating off then let us continue forward, and Commander my name is Emily." Smirking at her I dip the both of us towards the junction that connects to the Girty Lou and before Emily could ask I push off using the railing. This caused her to scream in my ear as we floated towards the junction, "Commander just what are you doing, you're going to get us killed." I smirk harder with that and reply "What, don't you trust me to keep you safe and besides this is the fastest and basically safest means of movement in Zero G." Before she could come up with a response I reach out and grab the railing at the junction point and swiftly bring us to a stop; I quickly adjust the both of us and then push off again, causing Emily to scream once more only this time it is a little bit lighter than before. Once more we come to a stop, this time we are mere feet from the Girty Lou as I right us to a standing position, and I chuckle at her face as Emily glares at me over my little stunt. "Commander, how dare you do that; do you know how scared I was during that stunt of yours? We could have been hurt or even killed, that was dangerous." Reaching around my back I take her hand and place it on the railing, "Well we did get here safely and for your knowledge this is not my first time in Zero G; all Star Forces members go through a Zero G training course that last about two weeks." She stared at me in shock; I guess that Zero G training is not something commonly known to the Colonials. I turn towards the hatch as Colonel Kelms steps through, adorning her face is a smile and a salute; I return the salute with "Colonel welcome to the Picon Anchorage, this is Miss Emily Ilosin of the Quorum of Twelve of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol." The look on Colonel Kelms face shows shock and disbelief, I guess this is going to be a long briefing.


	19. Chapter 19 Debriefing

Debriefing – Titan's Run

T-Plus One Hundred and Fifty-Seven Days from Geodesic Jump  
T-Plus Seven Hours from Arrival of Girty Lou

Any amount of time can be an eternity based off of one's point of view, for me eternity has been a consent companion since we began this journey with the refugee fleet. But Colonel Kelms the past seven hours has been one of the greatest tests she has faced since the academy. For the past seven hours she and her surviving crew including the AI Core Mu are checked over by Medical crew and Engineers, additionally an engineering team is performing a survey of the Girty Lou itself. At one end of the table is where the command staff will be seated and on the opposing end is myself along with Aurora in her holo-projection avatar and there is also Miss Emily Ilosin; I wonder why Emily told me her first name. Before I could continue that train of thought Colonel Kelms and her crew entered the room and took their seats at the end of the table; just behind them is the leader of the engineering team assigned to survey the Girty Lou. After handing me the padd carrying his report, he in turn took a seat near Aurora; all we need to begin is for Commander Caine to arrive.

Looking over the report I start taking note of the work ahead; the first thing is that the structural integrity and space-frame will have to be worked on. The drives will have to be replaced along with the majority of the engineering section of the ship and this alone will take at least three months in dry-dock, perhaps longer. The next thing is that the Neutrino-Ion power core will have to be replaced; that alone is a handful considering the science behind the functions of neutrino-ion generators and engines. I have to wonder what caused the core to scram like it did; neutrino-ion power generation is not that dangerous a science once you understand the basics but still the safety systems have been a basic part of all designs that they are included without thinking. I must question what happened to the Girty Lou during her time in this galaxy; according to the report the two meter thick Neutroniam-Carbon-Naquadah armor had been pierced by some form of quantum energy based weapon. This is proof that there are threats out there that the refugees might not be able to handle; the Girty Lou I am certain does not carry the same multi-phasic shields that are now standard in all Star Forces ships. As I continue to look over the report, the more I read the more I feel that the Girty Lou might be in dry-dock longer than I would prefer and hopefully Commander Caine will allow the time and resources to be used in repairing the Titan Class ship. At the sound of the hatch swinging open I look up to see Caine joining us; meaning we can now begin the debriefing.

Looking across the table to Colonel Kelms I start out with "Colonel can you give us a summary of the events from Regina VI orbit until your rendezvous with the fleet?" Happening a glance to her fellow crew members Kelms looked back to me before starting "Yes Sir. Our time here started during our escape with Regina VI orbit."

_The bridge was damaged by the Supergate structure as it flew from the surface of the planet; I was at secondary Tactical, the primary console exploded from an overload and killed Lt. Harper. "Commander, Regina VI's mass is decreasing at a rapid pace. According to Mu we have roughly two minutes before the planetary body collapses into a black-hole and the resulting shock wave destroys us and the Aurora." The commander immediately ordered that we move clear before the planet collapsed, but as I turned to look at the helm I noticed the XO pushed Corporal Wilts out of his chair. As the Corporal hit the deck I then saw debris from his console imbedded in his forehead; his console exploding must have killed him. The XO immediately shouted after taking the helm "Commander, sub-light's gone and the hyper-drive is damaged; Sir we have no choice, we have to perform a Combat FTL Jump at the right moment to get clear of the planet. Mu, can you get the SDUs to give us enough of a push to get us into hyperspace?" Mu didn't respond, I checked the Tactical readout to see that Mu was moving the SDUs into position in order for us to make the jump "Sirs, looks like Mu is moving the SDUs to give us a push; I don't know why he hasn't answered you yet."_

_Looking out the view port I saw the Aurora moving away at barely ten PSL and I could see sections of the armor where those damned Ori constructs had broken through the shields of the ships in orbit. The SDUs had used their grappling lines to hook on to us and pull/push us as fast as they could in order for us to enter FTL; I glanced back to the Tactical display and discovered to my horror that the planet was collapsing. "Sirs shock wave in bound" luckily as I screamed the XO had managed to open a hyperspace window, his only reply before I lost consciousness was "Entering hyperspace." I don't know how long I was out but when I came to I realized that I had been thrown against the primary Damage Control console; I hurt all over and from the looks of things I wasn't the only one. I tried to get up but found that I could barely move, I crawled along the deck towards the helm; the view port showed the stars moving oddly. When I managed to get to the helm I saw that the display showed us drifting on both X and Z axis, "Colonel, can you get us under control? Colonel, Colonel Williams?" As I tried to get his attention I started to realize that he was out cold, but when I attempted to correct our orientation I noticed blood on his restraints. I was frightened and before I could even think I found a hand on my shoulder, I looked back to see that it was the Commander and he was shaking his head. I turned back to the XO to see if I could help him when I finally saw that he wasn't breathing and that was when it hit me, the reason his restraints had blood on them was because at some point during FTL his chest was crushed killing him. I don't know much of what else happened because before I could move I was out of it again._

_I awoke to find myself in Medical with at least a forth of the crew around me, I was trying to get up in one of the nurses gently pushed me down onto the bed. "Don't try to get up, you broke your leg and have been asleep for the past week at least, you are one of the luckier ones you know; we are using the cargo and landing bays to house the rest of the injured crew." My head was spinning; I was out for a week and what about the status of my squad "What happened?" She didn't respond but from behind me "Ma'am" turning my head I saw Lt. Hipps and Jaffa Tel'mic "Good to see you awake for once Cap." "Indeed, we feared that a warrior such as yourself lost to us if you did not awaken soon" Tel'mic said with his usual brow of his head. "What happened and what is the status of our squad Lieutenant?" the look he gave me should have been the first clue that we were in trouble. "Ma'am over half the squad is out cold or injured like yourself, Ma'am. We are luckier than the rest of the crew in some respects, but we lost Mouse; kid died putting his Atmo-Shield on a crew member who was trapped in a section exposed to vacuum." Tel'mic lowered his head "He died true to the values of the Tua'ri warriors and I vow that he shall be honored in memory of all Jaffa; his death is a lost to us all." I felt his pain, Mouse, Corporal Mickey "Mouse" Roberts had been one of the first cadets to train with a Jaffa Master in the academy and he brought his understanding of the Jaffa with him when he joined us on the Girty Lou._

_I spent the next few days there in Medical recovering, all the while trying to find out the status of the ship and the crew. It was about four days after I woke up that the commander announced ship-wide that we were in an uncharted sector of space and that we will be operating in stealth mode until further notice. During this time I continued to recover while still giving orders to my squad just in case the Ori would come across us and just in case we ran into non-friendlies. It was a month after our escape from Regina VI orbit that we encountered the first ship in this region of space and I had only recently returned to bridge duty. I was at Tactical considering we had lost both Lt. Harper and his second, leaving us lacking for a proper shift rotation; the ship appeared from what looked like a hole in space. "Sir, unknown detected at thirty light seconds out; scanners show it to be biological. It is exiting some form of FTL similar to hyperspace Sir." As it approached us it was putting out a lot of energy, but it was something I had not seen before and the commander decided to open contact. "Attention unknown ship, this is Commander Chekhov of the Girty Lou, Galactic Star Forces First Task Force of the Great Races Alliance. We are in this area by accident, if this is your territory we apologize for entering without permission and we wish to request coordinates to an area of unclaimed space in order to affect repairs to our ship." For several moments there was no response and then suddenly there was a burst of energy directed at our transceiver array, it took us a few minutes to detect a radio signal and when we did it made no sense. The Commander ordered for communications to match the signal "Unknown Ship, please respond again; we are attempting to match comm. frequencies in order to communicate with you. Do you use subspace for communications by chance?" It was just after this did we receive something some what understandable; it was one word "Leave", but before we could ask it opened fire on us. I managed to bring the shields up in time to blunt the attack; if anything this caused the unknown ship to increase its attack for some reason._

_The commander attempted to reason with the unknown but it appeared to not want to talk and with the attack power of the ship strong enough to strain our recently repaired shields we tried to jump to hyperspace. We had to drop out after a few minutes because of tidal forces strong enough to rip us apart if we remained in FTL for much longer; the moment we returned to normal space another ship similar to the unknown bio-ship attacked us almost immediately and we jumped back into hyperspace. We spent the next few months randomly jumping around the region of space; we encountered another space faring biological that was radically different from the unknown squid types, this one looked like a spider. We dropped out on the edge of a star system and we were just barely making sense of the hash that appeared to saturate hyperspace and subspace, when the spider-ship appeared. It transmitted an odd message asking "What do you want?" The commander ordered us to prepare to jump back into hyperspace when suddenly the ship pulled away from us and transmitted two words "Permission granted". Everyone on the bridge was relieved, it appeared that we had just encountered our first friendly in this region and they had given us permission to remain within their territory while we continued with repairs. We spent two months in the system; on occasion a spider ship would make a fly by and check on us, they even transmitted star charts to us indicating their territory. It was a godsend after running from those squid ships for months without stopping and on at least two separate occasions they asked to speak with us. The Commander agreed to communications and we learned that the spider ships are called Shadows and the squid ships are Vorlons; the sentients laughed at our naming of the Vorlon ships._

_We managed to complete repairs but we still had no idea where to go, the Shadows suggested that we head for either Earth or towards the galactic core; their reasoning is that the Vorlons have little to no presence at either location to their knowledge. The Commander thanked them and asked why the Vorlons appeared to be hostile, the response was that the Vorlons and the Shadows were preparing to go to war with each other; but the over all reason is that from what we told them about ourselves the Vorlons would believe that we are a danger to the younger races and as thus need to be destroyed. As we were preparing to leave one of the Shadow ships approached us request permission to dock. With permission granted they docked with us and a gentleman of humanoid appearance asked if we would carry several colonists toward to galactic core if we were going in that direction. None of us saw any issue with that and in fact we were more than willing to return the kindness the Shadows showed us; it took nearly three hours and after which we now had twelve sleeper tubes on board. Justin the person representing the Shadows had told us that these people wished to go to Kobol, located on the opposing side of the galactic core itself. The Shadows would normally deploy a ship with escorts but with the war coming up they did not want to risk the colonists, but we showed them another possibility to keep their promise to the people in the sleeper tubes. We promised to get them to their destination safely and with the coordinates for Kobol we departed the system; we all thought it odd that there would be a Kobol here in this region but we dismissed it. We set course for the galactic core and entered hyperspace; in order to reach the galactic core normally you would have to fly through Vorlon territory, we managed to skirt around it; but doing so taxed the drives and shields thus bringing us into contact with the Ashen._

_At first we thought that the Ashen were related to the Aschen Confederation, but the area was just different enough for us to know that if it was the Aschen Confederation then they would look more like humans. At our first contact we received a hail from an angel fish shaped ship, colors of Sea-Green were predominant in its design. As we opened connection to the Ashen ship what we saw appeared to be a sentient with no hair, an odd bone like armor upon the skill and sea-green skin coloration._

"_I am Nii'sun of the Ashen, state you reasons for being in our territory and your identity."_

"_I am Commander Chekhov, commanding officer of the Girty Lou, Galactic Star Forces First Task Force of the Great Races Alliance. I apologize for entering your territory without permission, the star charts for this region of space does not have mention of this area being claimed. We are lost and are in hopes of finding a way home; during our initial arrival we attempted contact with a species that ordered us to leave and immediately attacked us before we could comply with their request. We have recently skirted around their territory in an attempt to appease their request, our star charts for this region were provided by another race of a similar level of development. Let me ask have you heard of the Vorlons and the Shadows?"_

"_Yes, the Vorrin lead the holy wars against the Dark Ones; the many saved from these Shadows of Darkness called the Vorrin Vorlons. The Vorrin must have sent you into our space to protect you from the Dark Ones."_

_The Ashen Commander's answer left us feeling uneasy about staying in Ashen controlled space and the Commander immediately alternated his following words to hide the name of those whom provided us with the star charts. "In a sense you are correct, we have been informed that the galactic core would be our preferred destination. Is it possible to receive a copy of your star charts in order for us to ensure that any darkness that follows will not threaten your protectorates?" The Ashen Commander nodded his head sagely and replied._

"_Most honorable of you, you risk yourselves to ensure our protectorates are safe; out of honor of your bravery I will transmit to you our star charts."_

_We received the charts only moments before a Vorlon ship appeared nearby, it was about seven light minutes out from us and the Commander managed to cut short our conversation with the Ashen without insulting them. But before we could jump into hyperspace another two Vorlon ships appeared from our port side and fired on us; the Ashen followed suit within mere seconds of the Vorlons hitting our shields. Apparently before we could even leave the Vorlons made certain that the Ashen are our enemies also, but at least we gained enough star charts to try and navigate around their territory. But the worst appeared directly ahead as a larger Vorlon ship entered normal space; checking it against the ship database provided by the Shadows registered it as a Vorlon Heavy Cruiser. With our shields damaged our only choices were either fight or flight and the Vorlons intended us to fight; with the Commander's signal I launched a salvo of Sledgehammers targeting the Vorlon ships in order to disable them. We left the Ashen ship alone due to the threat being the Vorlons themselves. We managed to land hits against them and as we did the Ashen suddenly stopped attacking, we decided not to look a gift horse in the month and made the jump to hyperspace._

I held my hand up stopping Colonel Kelms, then looking over the command logs transmitted from the Girty Lou's AI Core Mu; I looked at the data pertaining to the Ashen and the Vorlons. Both control territories that are roughly four to six thousand light years in circumference; this would be an issue attempting to get the fleet past them if we want to use the primary course to leave the galaxy. But the real issue is the information pertaining to the biological structure of these Ashen that is present in the report; the information appears to be rather detailed for just the sensors on a Titan class ship to be able to gleam. "Colonel Kelms, in this report there is a detailed genetic mapping of the Ashen; can you give us an explanation of how you were able to come about this information?" Colonel Kelms looked down before responding, "Sir it was during our time in their space."

_It had been roughly three weeks since our encounter with the Vorlons and the Ashen ship and we had just entered a nebula in order to avoid detection while we continued with repairs. I was down in Engineering suiting up with a repair crew that was going to go EVA in order to repair the forward CIWS arrays. "Captain Kelms, I heard that the Commander is going to give battlefield promotions to senior offices in order to reform the command staff. Do you by chance know if he is going to be promoting anyone from the lower ranks to fill positions amongst the command staff also?" I turned to Sergeant Paulins, the Sergeant had been apart of Engineering for all of eight months since he began his tour of duty aboard ship. To be honest if it weren't for the name tag on his EVA suit, I might have not have known his name for my response "Sergeant, to my knowledge the Commander is still considering give promotion in rank. But as to filling the openings in the command staff; we have more than enough ranked officers to fill the positions without giving out promotions. So you know the ONLY command positions that require a rank above Lieutenant is ship CO and XO, and for all I know no one is getting promotions; now than can we get to repairing the forward arrays?" The Sergeant nodded his head in confirmation and we made our way to the forward airlock after finishing suiting up. In order to conserve our resources we used the older manual decompression method once inside of the airlock. Activating our mag-boots I opened the outer airlock and stepped outside onto the haul, the damage from the Ori and Vorlons showed clear as we made our way forward._

Colonel Kelms was interrupted once more, but this time it was by Emily Ilosin instead of myself, "Colonel what are mag-boots?" A Lieutenant by Colonel Kelms answered for her "Ma'am mag-boots are magnetic boots used for EVA into Zero-G environments such as the outside of a ship in deep space." I notice Caine smiling at the explanation; personally I am uncertain as to why; from what I have learned of Colonial technology, they also have mag-boots. Pushing that aside for now, I motion for Colonel Kelms to continue her report about how they managed to obtain the Ashen Bio-Data.

_The repair team had been working on the array for a little under an hour before something caught my eye and I turned to get a better look. I was unable to see anything, but considering our current position in space I opened a link to the bridge "Bridge is there anything nearby on sensors?" They responded after a minute, "Negative on contacts; did you see something out there while baby-sitting the repair team?" I couldn't help shake the feeling that something was nearby, just waiting for us to slip up "Yes, something flashed on the edge of my field of vision but I was unable to get a clear look." "Confirmed we will keep an eye out for you, just get that work done ASAP and get back inside." I turned back to the repair team and when I did I noticed something moving towards us; it looked like a rock but why did I not see it before now. "Bridge, there appears to be an asteroid drifting towards the ship. Can you get a sensor reading on it and see how close it will come?" The haul reverberated under us just as we received the message "Fire in the hole", and the CIWS arrays opened fire on the rock moving towards us. As EHV rounds peppered the asteroid we were ordered to return to the airlock and prepare for immediate FTL into hyperspace. It took us about five minutes to reach the airlock and as the outer doors closed the ship rocked, it filter through my mind that it must have been an impact against the haul. I barely had the inner doors opened when the klaxon sounded and PA announced that we had guests aboard ship._

_I made a run to the nearest armory with the repair team just behind me, Tel'mic and Sergeant Major Melson with Lt. Hipps entered my field of vision. Tel'mic was kneeled down firing his staff weapon down a corridor with Lt. Hipps supporting him, "Melson what is the situation?" "Ma'am we have been boarded, the enemy is unknown but from the appearance of the hostiles I would venture to say that these guys are Ashen." That did not instill any confidence in me, grabbing a P-90 Assault Rifle I flipped the switch to Stunner Mode. Just as I was about to turn back towards Tel'mic one of the repair team was thrown back, moving to check on her I noticed a burned patch on her EVA suit; it was not enough to pierce the suit but the force of the hit was enough to knock her over. Not wanting to take any chances I moved back into the armory to grab a few stun grenades; depressing the trigger on one I shouted "Clear, fire in the hole" and chucked it down the corridor. Less then a second later we were greeted by the sound of the stun blast and the hostile fire halting, I decided for good measure to chuck a second grenade down the corridor without the accompanying warning. I was quickly rewarded when additional hostiles opened fire on the approaching grenade, I took aim at the first available target and fired a few burst shots just as the grenade hit its mark and detonated. Lt. Hipps took out his scanner and gave us the all clear, as we all stood up I opened my link to the bridge "Bridge are there any hostiles outside of Section 19 on Deck 5, Corridor A-C6?" "Negative, all other hostiles have been neutralized; do you have any casualties?" Looking back at the repair team I take stock that five members of the team have been hit by enemy weapons fire, but looks like none of their suits have been breached. Tel'mic, Lt. Hipps and Sergeant Major Melson all appear to be okay "Bridge five members of the repair team have been hit, but it appears that their suits held off any weapons fire that could have caused any real harm. We are just bruised a bit down here."_

I poured a glass of water while Colonel Kelms continued her report; they managed to hold against the enemy boarders and even managed to secure prisoners for questioning. Her description of the Ashen gave us the image of a green tinted skin color with some form of bone crest attached to the back and sides of their skull, the lack of hair seemed a mute point when it was discovered that the Ashen had been genetically altered some point in their evolutionary development. The source of the genetic alterations are an unknown but the fact that said genetic alterations appear to only affect the perception and telepathic portions of the brain or at least what is believed to the perception and telepathic portions leave me wondering why and who would do this. We learned from the Re'tu that altering the perception center of the brain can have damaging affects on the rest of the body if not performed properly. From the report it appears as if the genetic alterations were introduced several generations ago into the Ashen gene pool and that over the generations the alterations took root and began to develop as if apart of their normal genetic code.

Before we could continue with the summary report, Commander Caine "Commander Phoenix, Colonel Kelms can I get a weapons overview? I am namely interested in what a P-90 Assault Rifle is and what other hand held weapons are available to the Star Forces?" I nod my head in permission for Colonel Kelms to brief the Colonials on Star Forces hand based weapons. "Sir, the P-90 Assault Rifle is the primary combat weapon of the Star Forces Marine Core; the SFMC uses a varying array of weapons from standard side-arms to sniper rifles and more. The P-90 is the most versatile weapon known to the Star Forces; it is designed with three primary firing modes, Full Auto-Fire in which you squeeze and hold the trigger to unleash a stream of weapon shots at the target. The next is Burst-Shot, in this mode you fire off three rounds of weapons fire per single squeeze of the trigger; then there is Single-Shot, this of course is self explanatory as in Single-Shot one squeeze one round fired." Pausing for a moment I can see the Colonel giving me a questioning look, I nod to her once again indicating that she has permission to inform the Colonials of our weapons tech for hand held systems. "The P-90 is also equipped with the greatest ammunition based inventory system of all Star Forces weapons. The differing ammunition modes are as follows; Standard mode is a plasma based energy shot, when compared to a Jaffa Staff weapon it is not even at half strength, but this allows for the plasma to be generated and fired at a far more rapid rate thus allowing for it to be used in Full Auto-Fire. This allows the P-90 to out perform the weapon of choice of Milky Way for the past five thousand years." The Colonials in the room looked at each member of the Star Forces with questioning gazes before Kelms continued, "Next is Stunner mode, this option fires paralyzing energy bursts that cause the outer muscles of the target organic to have temporarily loss of use of their limbs or even complete motor control for up to several hours." This brought a smile to the new Colonial Police Chief; I am certain that he will ask for Stunner based side-arms for his new officers. "The third setting is the ECM mode, this ammunition setting allows for only non-organic enemies to be targeted and disabled. A basic example is that I can fire a single shot at a computer console and the unit will be rendered useless until repairs can be made, this mode is used primarily against mechanical threats. The final ammunition setting is Slug mode; this mode utilizes a small fabricator that is built into the unit in order to fire physical nickel-iron slug rounds. The P-90 is equipped with a number of functions in order to ensure safe operation of the weapon and give it a wide range of options; on the front of the weapon is the Attachment Assembly, this allows for additional ammunition types to be loaded into the P-90. It is equipped with a shield extender which works in concert with Marine Body Armor to allow the P-90 to be used as a shield against enemy fire; the rear of the P-90 is equipped with a small inertial dampener to allow for a basic recoilless weapon system. The unit is also powered by a Neutrino-Ion Generator allowing for an unlimited energy reserve for field operations."

I am certain that this will be a goal for any Colonial Scientist whom learns about our hand held weapons technology and I am certain that the Marine Body Armor will be desired by the Colonial Marines. Several of the marines in the room seemed to move closer and one whispered into Caine's ear, Caine immediately turned his attention back to Colonel Kelms with "Colonel, can you tell us more about the SFMC Marine Body Armor?" I signal my okay to Kelms once again in order for us to get through this debriefing, "Sir, the Marine Body Armor is only a second generation design but it does provide for the marine whom wears it. The Armor is made of a light weight alloy made of Carbon, Naquadah and Titanium in order to protect the wearer from a varying degree of weapons fire. The pack is equipped with a small Neutrino-Ion Generator in order to power the armor systems, in which include comms, navi-computer and an impact shield generator." This caused Emily Ilosin to erupt with "You have shields, as in honest to goodness science fiction dreamed of shields; and you have them to protect a single person?" I guess that she missed the mention of the Atmo-Shields during the report earlier on; I sigh before I take over, "Yes, we have energy based shield technology; from personal all the way to planetary based systems. Colonel, I will continue from here in describing the marine body armor" a nod of compliance from Kelms and I continued; "The Impact Shield of the second generation armor is designed to protect marines from high velocity attacks such as say a gun shot, but throwing a knife at them and they are an open target. We have made improvements on the armor technology and the newest seventh generation armors are equipped with Bio-Hazard shields to allow marines to operate in extremely hostile environments. The ODST second generation armor allows for marines to operate in Zero Atmosphere environments; this allows marines to fight in a vacuum if the ship they are on has a haul breach."

I can see several of the Colonial Marines are starting to drool; more than likely thinking about if they can use the SFMC Marine Body Armor. Colonel Kelms looked at me and asked "Is the ODST operating still? The last I had heard, there were no marines insane enough for the job." As I acknowledge Colonel Kelms with confirmation, Caine decides to ask "What is the ODST?" I signal that I will reply, "The ODST is a marine division within the SFMC; they are our first line soldiers for ship to ground combat. ODST is short for Orbital Drop Shock Troopers; as the name implies they are deployed to combat areas planet-side via orbital drop vectors, this is normally done by either drop-ship or by the HEVs." This got Kelms attention as she blanched; being a marine herself once upon a time, she knows full well the risks of using the HEV system. I continue with "HEV is the Human Entry Vehicle; they are normally one person drop pods with no real engines so to speak. The HEVs are designed to drop into a planetary gravity well at high speed in order to make them as small a target as possible; basically you can't shoot what you can't follow. Those whom use the HEVs are known as PACT, Planetary Assault Combat Troopers; they are equipped with an advantaged version of the Impact Shields, allowing them to be used not only as assault troops but also as weapons fire. You see the PACT are trained to be inserted directly into enemy lines during combat; by using the D-HEVs they impact into the ground as if they are an orbital bombardment shell. They are most common on Titan class ships now a days as the Titans are designed along the lines of stealth operations." I take the liberty of looking around the room at everyone that I can see; most of them are shocked including Emily Ilosin and some of the marines, "How about we take a thirty minute break and give those whom are still digesting the information thus far time to keep from being overwhelmed." Caine quickly agreed and we broke for the time I had mentioned; this will be a lot to take in for anyone and I am certain that there is more to come.

As we broke the Caine moved over to the comm.; Colonel Kelms approached me while Aurora deactivated her projection. "Supreme Commander Sir, may I ask what is going on here and where exactly we are in relation to home?" Tapping my hand on the table indicating for Kelms to sit; I only have to wait for a moment while she takes a seat and Caine rejoins us. "Colonel, this is the galaxy in which the lost city of Kobol has been for the past thirteen million years" her face drops at that piece of news, "I take it from that you can realize our relation to home?" Nodding her head, "I guess that we will be here for a while; it took us nearly a year to reach this far into the galaxy past the galactic core. But if we are over fifty million light years from home, then that means it will take us decades to get back." I shake my head before replying, "Actually it would have taken that long if the Aurora was not equipped with the newest inter-galactic hyper-drive; once the Girty Lou is refitted with up-to-date technology we should be able to make the trip in four to five months after clearing the galactic rim here." Her eyes widened at that and Caine snickered before adding "That is not to mention I am intending to add a jump-drive to your ship in order for you to move with the fleet and even have a pair raptors on your deck." Kelms looked at the both of us with a smile on her face and the three of us laughed a little "I guess all that we're missing is Starfleet showing up." That caused me to stop and then groan loudly; how could I have forgotten about Starfleet and with everything else in this galaxy that will be the last thing I need to worry about. Both Kelms and Caine looked at me, "Kelms you just had to remind me about Starfleet." With a questioning look on her face I continued "They were planning an expedition along the last known path for Kobol and even with over thirteen million years of stellar drift, the course will still lead them straight into this galaxy. They were being equipped with an older generation of inter-galactic hyper-drives, but if they left on schedule I would guess that they will be entering this galactic group within the next few months." That caused Kelms to groan and Caine to look at the both of us, "What is Starfleet? Is it another division of the Star Forces?" "No Caine, Starfleet is our government's attempt at creating a civilian controlled exploration arm; the personnel of Starfleet go through similar training as any officer of the Star Forces, but they do not fall under the same guide lines."

I open my comm. link and request all data pertaining to the Starfleet Expedition Force to be forwarded to my padd immediately, while Kelms continued to explain the Starfleet to Caine. "And because they are civilian controlled at times depended on what Admiral, Captain or Commander we are dealing with things can get a bit messy." Taking over, "messy is not even the half of it; on over ten separate occasions a Starfleet Captain brought their ship into the line of fire between a Star Forces ship and an enemy. Most of the commanding officers in Starfleet believe that the Star Forces think shoot first and talk after there is nothing left to shoot. I remember that the captain of the galaxy class USS Roddenberry had attempted to ensure that I did not cause a shooting war during a First Contact with a species from the Andromeda galaxy. What happened was a ship appeared out of FTL just inside of Pegasus from the parent galaxy Andromeda; the Aurora was present because Starfleet needed a ship on the rim of Pegasus to get some astrometric readings on Andromeda's satellite galaxies." I sigh loudly over remembering the incident and the following report, "the Starfleet Captain moved his ship; a ship filled with not only civilians but nearly four hundred non-Starfleet civilians at that, directly between the Aurora and the unknown. Luckily another ship appeared behind the first, similar in appearance; before anyone could open communications the second ship opened fire and destroyed the first and then altered course towards Andromeda; they left without a word to either ship." Seeing Emily Ilosin re-enter the room, I check my chronometer and see that the thirty minute break is just about to end; "I guess we will have to finish this later." We move back to our seats ready to resume the debriefing of the Girty Lou command staff.

"Okay, Commander Caine do you have any more questions in regards to the SFMC or their equipment before we continue?" Caine gave me a knowing smile before nodding that we could proceed with the debriefing, "Colonel, according to this report you lost additional personnel during boarding actions by the Ashen in the following months is that correct?" "Yes Sir, and as mentioned in my report we lost a man when we attempted to leave our prisoners on a habitable planetoid with a transceiver in order for them to be rescued by their people." I had read that in the report, it was during that time in which both Commander Chekhov had died and the Girty Lou lost her normal space drives. "From what I see in your report after that incident you managed to clear Ashen space and made best possible speed for the galactic core. By following the coordinates provided to you by the Shadows you have made contact with this fleet; is there anything you wish to add?" With a choir of 'No Sir' we continued on to the repair schedule, along with the crew rotation and official announcement to the fleet of the Girty Lou's arrival and joining of the fleet. We ended the debriefing and dismissed the marines; Colonel Kelms along with Commander Caine, Emily Ilosin and myself would be going over to meet with the Quorum of Twelve in order to properly announce the arrival of the Girty Lou and to assign them a slot within the fleet. I would be remaining on the Olympus for several more hours as the Quorum had already requested a meeting in regards to using the Aurora for the Presidential Election coming up within the next few months; I wonder if Commander Adama is alive, does he have to deal with this also or is it worse since last anyone in our fleet remembers is that President Roslin is with the Galactica Fleet.


	20. Chapter 20 Finding Galactica

Finding Galactica – Fight against Battlestar Pegasus

T-Plus One Hundred and Seventy-Five Days from Geodesic Jump  
T-Plus Eighteen Days from Arrival of Girty Lou

It had been only eighteen days since the Girty Lou had appeared; eighteen days of work for the engineering teams and crew of the Titan class ship. But what has my blood boiling at this moment is the sensor report that I am reading from Girty Lou SDU-019; according to the report there is a series of subspace pulses that are commonly formed by the use of Jump-drives. But the pulses are not what has my blood boiling; no it is that the two of the pulses match the recorded readings for both Columbia and Mercury class Battlestars, and that they are behind us by at least one hundred light years. "According to this report by GL SDU-019 there are almost sixty ships with the Columbia class that is behind us. If I had to guess I would say it is Adama back there." I nod in agreement to Caine's line of thought; it is more than likely the Galactica and from the report it looks like the Pegasus is more than likely about to rendezvous with their fleet. "I would offer to take the Girty Lou out and check to see if it is the missing fleet," Kelms had left her thought unfinished as an obvious acknowledgement that the Girty Lou would not be able to fly any time soon. Kelms had only recently joined the Senior Commanding Council; the Quorum had attempted to give the young Colonel a commission in the Colonial Fleet but Caine had managed to shield her and her crew from their attempts thus far and to further that we added her to the council. "We all understand that the Girty Lou would be the preferred choice but we do have access to the Stleathstars for the same task." Mitchell does bring up a valid point but I would still prefer another ship for the task; preferable one capable of out running and out fighting any possible threat to itself or the civilian fleet. Picking up the padd Langston joined in with "perhaps since we have the Girty Lou and her SDUs we can send the Aurora along with one of the Battlestars. We have the Savior and Zeus; adding in the Girty Lou we can now deploy the Aurora offensively against possible threats. The Girty Lou does not need to be flight ready to use those sensors of your does it?" We all nodded our heads in agreement; the Girty Lou does not need to be flight ready or even capable to use the sensors and being docked with the Anchorage means that there is a physical data connection between the two systems. With the modifications made to the engine field coils that were provided by the Girty Lou, the Aurora is once more capable of flying through hyperspace for prolonged periods and high speeds; the same can be said for the 302s once more.

"If it is agreed by this council I would prefer to deploy the Aurora and two Battlestars as escort." Langston immediately seconded my motion and we all agreed that the Aurora would be the one to meet with the Galactica along with two escort Battlestars. "The next question is who will be the escorts? We can only have so many of the Council leaving the fleet, any more than two will be pushing it; I personally believe that having the Daedalus would prove useful." Langston looked at me "Why is that, I understand me being a member of the Council would help" pausing for a moment she continued with "of course; you want the Daedalus because we shielded those Roslin left behind." I nodded in answer to her query and continued with "as for the second escort I believe that the Battlestar Wildstar would be the best choice." The Colonial Commanders looked at me with confused expressions on their faces, before they could say anything I continued "The Aurora will be disturbing enough for them, but having two classes of Battlestar flaking a ship that is clearly alien in appearance would hopefully claim them somewhat. Additionally it will be easier on the Aurora's hyper-drives if we carry ships the size of a Guardian class but we are not limited to that." Langston from that point "Why would the Aurora's hyper-drives matter?" "Because the Aurora is going to carry both escorts into hyperspace for the mission to rendezvous with Galactica; before you ask it will be faster with the hyper-drives instead of the jump-drive." We continued on for another twenty minutes working out the details; given as to the fact that the Aurora is capable of carrying nearly five hundred fighters and only being equipped with barely two hundred, Caine insisted that we carry at least four Viper flight groups on board incase we needed them. Commanders Walters and Mitchell gleamed at me saying that I should consider myself lucky to be carrying almost three hundred combat ready fighters; I have yet to inform them that the Aurora's refit also equipped us with four gunboat based ships docked inside of the flight bays along the ventral section of the ship. I also decided to inform the Quorum about the mission to rendezvous with the Galactica and I officially requested a speaker for the Quorum to accompany us; I was granted Miss Emily Ilosin herself.

The fleet will be moving to the next set of coordinates during our mission in order to ensure the safety of the civilians; the system marked in the star-maps where we will rendezvous with the fleet is at a total of three hundred light years out. This being well past the red-line for the Cylon and Colonial jump-drive navigational systems, but not for Star Forces based computers to calculate. By the time we are within the Galactica's dradius range the fleet will be over four hundred light years away and hopefully safe until our return. It will take at least five hours to complete the Viper transfer from the fleet reserves on the Anchorage to the Aurora; after which the Aurora, Daedalus and Wildstar will begin our mission to the Galactica fleet. As we await the transfer process I am going to head down to the Garden and spend sometime with Amanda and Laura; I leave the bridge in the XO's hands. As I move towards the closest transport chamber a group of Colonial pilots round the corner; amongst them is Emily Ilosin who calls for my attention "Commander." Turning to them fully "Welcome back aboard Miss Ilosin and I see this time you brought an escort with you." The pilots laughed while Miss Ilosin swatted my arm, "First of all Commander, these are some of your new pilots and second I thought I told you to call me Emily?" The rest of the group chuckled at that, while I sighed; normally I would indulge her but officially the Great Races Alliance has not setup formal relations with the Colonials. This of course is despite some of my actions and reactions with the Colonials for the past six months; "Emily, I was just on my way down to the Garden, perhaps everyone here would like to see where the crew sometimes takes R&R." The pilots quickly nodded in agreement and Emily verbally agreed in entertainment of the ship's R&R section. Ushering them into the transport chamber, one asks "How are we going to get to this Garden from inside of a closet?" I opened the controls and selected the section containing the Garden; within a moment there was a flash of light, the inward appearance of the transport and then the panel closed. I moved to exit the chamber; having been redesigned to accommodate up to ten people in close quarters, the chambers have become twice their original size. Turing back to face them "That is a Transport Chamber; since you will be aboard for the foreseen future I believe it will be prudent for you to learn how to get around on board ship." They only nodded in response; I guess I showed them too much too quickly, but they would have to go through this sooner or later; I wonder how they will react to the Garden itself?

I find myself back on the bridge nearly five hours later; the looks on the pilots when we entered the Garden was priceless, doubly so when they saw the holographic sky that we use to simulate planet-side conditions. Going over the transfer list on my padd I notice that Caine transferred over eight flight groups giving us one hundred and sixty Vipers and pilots from the Colonial Fleet. Luckily for the new pilots and my own crew, that the refit team designed the bays and new pilot bunks for up-to five hundred fighters and pilots. Holding the padd for the bridge yeoman to take, "XO are we ready to begin our mission to Galactica?" As the crewman takes the padd, Christina answers with "Sir, Yes Sir. Mister Polk set course for the Galactica and take us out of fleet formation." With the ease of a practiced helmsman, Charlie is able to move clear of the fleet within mere minutes of the order. As we approach position to begin our mission I can see both the Daedalus and Wildstar sitting in the void of space awaiting our arrival; they had moved clear of the fleet nearly an hour earlier. "Okay Lt. Anderson, prepare to tracker both the Wildstar and Daedalus into hyperspace; Charlie, extend the M/I shields to encompass all three ships. Ensign Corman, are the battlestars ready to move out?" The reply came swiftly in the form of an affirmative; looking over my crew I give the order "Charlie, take us into hyperspace." "Yes Sir, going FTL now" as he said that we dived into hyperspace; Lt. Anderson already having engaged tracker beams to carry both the Daedalus and Wildstar close to the ventral haul. "Ensign, give me fleet-wide" nodding to me to signal that fleet wide is active "Attention all hands, welcome to hyperspace and to my own crew welcome back." Looking over my display I continue "Our time on target is two hours and nineteen minutes at standard cruising speed; to any Colonial aboard the Aurora, you can look at hyperspace from the Observation Lounge amid ship; that is all." Closing the link from my command chair I look at the welcomed light show that is hyperspace transit for GSF ships.

For the next two hours we continued to monitor the activity in Galactica's section of space. The Pegasus had made contact with the fleet as far as our sensors could tell, but due to our current progress on adapting our systems to deal with the tachyon hash we are uncertain of how long the Pegasus has been in contact with Galactica. I am now online with Commanders Langston and Colons, "Commanders, the basic idea is for us to dropout of hyperspace just outside of dradius range and for either the Daedalus or Wildstar to coast into range and be detected."

_Won't Commander Adama and Admiral Cain question how another battlestar just happened upon them?_

"_Normally I would agree with you Commander Colons, but I believe Commander Phoenix does have a valid plan for contact. Think about it; what would be your reaction to a ship suddenly appearing out of nowhere and moving at speeds that up-until that point has been unheard of? That is why I will take the Daedalus in first, make contact and then call the both of you to join us."_

"This is why I requested two escorts; Commander Langston, how do you think Admiral Cain will react when the Aurora appears on dradius?" Hopefully Cain will react with at least a level head and not immediately shoot at us.

"_My guess will be that she shoots first and after expending half of her ordinance she might consider shooting until she needs to either run or talk."_

That does not instill confidence in the possible encounter with the Pegasus, "You know that does not instill much confidence in this matter. But at least we will have something to be readied for." Looking towards Charlie I see we are about to dropout of hyperspace, "We're about to return to normal space; see you on the other side."

_Roger that Aurora Actual._

"_Confirmed we're ready here; just let us fly after we dropout of hyperspace."_

Within moments we dropped out of hyperspace; in the distance barely visible to the naked eye is the Galactica fleet along with the Pegasus. As we answer to all stop and arrest our forward motion, the Daedalus moves into our line of sight and towards the fleet ahead of us. "Lt. Anderson, does it appear that the Daedalus has been detected by Galactica or Pegasus yet?" "Sir, looks like the Daedalus is still just outside of their sensor range," after a few minutes the Lieutenant called out "Confirmed, looks like their seen now." Looking to Ensign Corman I see her pulling up the wireless traffic for the fleet, "Commander Sir, I have their wireless; should I put it on the over head?" I signal my permission; we suddenly hear the connection between the Daedalus and the Galactica fleet.

_This is the Battlestar Pegasus to the unknown ship; identify yourselves or you will be fired upon._

"_To the ship claiming to be Pegasus, this is the Battlestar Daedalus; we are transmitting recognition codes, please hold fire."_

Looks like Langston is correct about Admiral Cain's reaction to us appearing and that is with just the Daedalus entering their dradius range. "Lt. Anderson, what is the Daedalus' status?" "Sir, looks like they have slowed to a crawl; doesn't look like anything is wrong with their drive systems." Colonel Hunter stepped up to answer, "Lieutenant, the reason is simple; until this time the Colonials have not been capable of speeds that we take for granted. Commander Langston is keeping the Daedalus' ability for high speed flight and maneuverability hidden from the Pegasus and Galactica for good reasons." This I have to agree with; if Langston had gone in at normal cruising speed, the fleet in front of us would have been scared out of their minds. As I watched I thought about how Adama and Roslin would react when we informed them about the Anchorage and her fleet of nearly two hundred thousand survivors. I am uncertain if Helena Cain is stable enough to be considered fit for standing trail for her crimes, only time will tell us. Our wait is compounded by the fact that at standard Colonial speeds it will take the Daedalus another ten minutes to reach the Galactica and another fifteen to pull into position; for the refit Daedalus it would take only seven minutes to complete the entire process and not twenty-five. As our wait continued Lt. Anderson yelled "Sir, Colonial Raptor is on approach with a civvie ship; their making for the Daedalus. At this rate they will pick us up on sensors in four minutes." Not good "Commander Sir, the Daedalus is signaling for us and the Wildstar to approach. They say that President Roslin and Commander Adama are on board of Colonial One; the Raptor is from the Pegasus and has Admiral Cain." I smile thankfully to Ensign Corman; that news helps out. I nod to the XO, whom then "Mister Polk, take us in slowly; relative speed equal to the Daedalus and engage forward thrust." Nodding to the order Charlie engages the engines and we move towards the fleet, while I prepare to go aboard the Daedalus. "XO, you and a team of marines will be accompanying me to the Daedalus to officially meet with the Colonial leadership of this fleet." Giving me a salute, "Sir, Yes Sir" with that she moves off to the security console to order the marines to the flight bay. As we reached the Starboard Deck, I spotted Miss Ilosin and the Raptor that will take us to the Daedalus; "Miss Ilosin, do you have everything for the meeting with Admiral Cain and President Roslin?" Nodding that she does, we boarded the Raptor; in total there are going to be eight of us, four marines, Miss Ilosin, the Colonial pilot with the XO and myself. Normally a GSF ship's XO would remain on board unless in dock if the ship's CO was not aboard, but for diplomatic meetings both ship CO and XO must be present when an official representative of the GRA is not available.

Once secured, the deck gang moved the Raptor to the lift and raised us into the Flight Bay. The pilot opened the wireless "Aurora Control this is Raptor 4279, we are ready for launch."

_Confirmed Raptor 4279, you are free and clear; good luck and good hunting._

"Roger that; okay everyone here we go," pulling on the controls we launched from the bay and made our way to the Daedalus. It will take us several minutes to reach the battlestar; one of the things we have yet to consider is installing Ring Transporters for ship to ship transfers, makes me wish we had considered it by now. The Colonial Raptor wasn't designed for comfort or passengers really, but is been the primary choice for ship to ship movement by the Colonies. The same originally could have been said for the Jumpers, but the ship class being designed for use with the gate network easily resolved the issue before it could occur. During our approach, the Daedalus Flight Control flagged us for priority landing on the starboard hanger deck; seeing as how we might be physically closer I can understand the priority rating. We landed and were brought onto the deck with expedience that belittled the fore coming event.

As we departed the Raptor, the ship XO from the Daedalus; Colonel Micheal Yelps, approached us "Supreme Commander, Miss Ilosin. If you could follow me, the Commander is waiting for you at the docking hatch where Colonial One will be assigned." Each of us nodded and followed the XO; both Colonel Hunter and myself had taken the liberty of dressing in our class two uniforms for the meeting. We reached the docking hatch just in time to witness several Colonial marines step off of the hatch steps and form a standard parade formation. As I step up next to Commander Langston, the next to leave Colonial One steps off the steps; a woman whom appears to be in her mid to late forties, judging from Langston's reaction this is Admiral Helena Cain. Following Admiral Cain is another woman, this one dressed in civilian clothing; I am uncertain of whom this is, and immediately following her is another Colonial Officer of whom I am assuming is Commander Adama. "Admiral Cain, welcome aboard the Battlestar Daedalus." Langston quickly saluted, but before she could introduce the rest of us "Thank you Commander, I brought with me Commander Adama from the Galactica and our current President Laura Roslin." I can tell by the introduction that Admiral Cain has the impression that she is in overall command; Langston then resumed her introductions "My I introduce to you Supreme Commander Phoenix and his XO Colonel Hunter from the Aurora and Miss Emily Ilosin from the Quorum of Twelve." As Miss Ilosin was introduced, both Adama and Roslin's eyes widened as if learning something that would turn their world upside down. Before we would continue, Commander Langston suggested that we move to a more comfortable locale for this meeting. We soon find ourselves in the CO's quarters; here President Roslin kicks off our meeting with "Miss Ilosin, just how many people does your Quorum represent?" Loaded question if I ever heard one, but Miss Ilosin answered "Madam President, my Quorum as you put it represents nearly two hundred thousand survivors from our home worlds." This drew the breath out of Cain, Adama and Roslin; "You see during the attack on the Colonies, a ship entered the system. On board was two of the Colonial Officers that were sent to the Armistice Station for the annual talks; the ship in question was able to take out several Cylon basestars signal handedly and helped organize a general evacuation of the populace of the Colonies."

Langston took over, "During the evacuation, my battlestar happened to jump in directly between a group of civvie ships and a Cylon attack force. We were able to save seven thousand people, but we were held up in the Anchorage dock for several hours during repairs; several days after during our refit." Adama stopped us there and asked "What Anchorage and how many ships do you have in your fleet?" Nodding that I take over, I began with "You know it as the Picon Anchorage; we have been able to retro-fit the station with jump-drives and the required power to operate them. As for the fleet, currently we have nearly forty Colonial Fleet ships, of which include multi-types of battlestars, strikestars, defenstars, fleet tenders and currently one warstar. Additionally we have seven type three basestars acting as fleet defenders for the civilian fleet of nearly eighty ships, along with the remains of the Pegasus' civilian fleet." The caught Cain's attention; more than likely she left the civilians for dead and never gave it a second thought; Roslin spoke with a whisper, "nearly eighty ships with two hundred thousand people." I smile at her reaction; her face shows such hope at hearing the number of people within out fleet; looking at her I continue "The Olympus is currently our civilian capital ship and home of the newly reformed Colonial Government. The offices of President and Vice-President have been left empty until such time as we are able to contact you or learn of your possible death. With locating your fleet and making contact, we now have to escort you and your fleet to rendezvous with our own and officially transfer control of the government to the office of the President." Taking a padd from the briefcase next to Miss Ilosin, she hands it to President Roslin "Madam President, this is the current ship registry. We believed that you would want to know the names of the ships and their captains; I hope I am correct in assuming that you have done this with the Galactica Fleet." Roslin looked up at that, but her face showed absolute shock; holding up the padd "What is this? I thought it was a clipboard, but it doesn't look like anything I have ever seen." Miss Ilosin answered with "That Madam President is a padd; basically a gift from the Aurora, it is an advanced handheld computer with a touch screen interface. At first I was a little apprehensive about the padd and other things myself, but now I will find it hard to go back." I myself took out a padd that I had brought with me, this padd contains the official first contact package for the GRA; it is standard for all ships of the GRA government both civilian Starfleet and Galactic Star Forces. Handing it to Adama "This is the Official First Contact data for my government of the Great Races Alliance; I would suggest that you read it in full to understand just exactly who we are and where we are from." Miss Ilosin was reaching into her briefcase for yet another padd; shaking my head I indicated to her to hold off for the moment, I preferable want to have the Pegasus docked in the Anchorage before we strip Admiral Cain of duty.

The meeting continued for another ten minutes before I invited Admiral Cain and Commander Adama over to the Aurora for a tour of my ship; Miss Ilosin invited President Roslin aboard to continue their discussion about the civilian fleet. We agreed that the tour should commence tomorrow at nine hundred hours Colonial time; this would be roughly the same as our time since our nearly six months of contact with the Colonials. The ride back to the Aurora was not a long as the one to the Daedalus, we landed and went our separate ways for the time being; Colonel Hunter made for the bridge considering that she is only half-way through her shift. I dismissed the marines and pilot; Miss Ilosin and myself both have paper work to fill out and so we made for my office. I will have to have an office space assigned for visiting civilian leadership until we are back home in GRA territory. Once in my office, I open the comm. link to the bridge and request a connection to the Girty Lou; "Ensign Corman, open a connection to the Girty Lou via priority channel Red-1-Alpha. Once connected request an immediate tie-in to both the Anchorage and the Quorum on the Olympus, both Miss Ilosin and myself need to update the fleet on our mission status."

_Yes Sir, one moment while I attempt a connection. Connection established; transferring to your office now._

I am always amazed by the speed Ensign Corman displays when it comes to the communications systems; she is a true natural when it comes to comm. based technologies. "Anchorage Control, this is Aurora Actual requesting to speak with Anchorage Actual."

_Confirmed Aurora Actual, standby._

_Caine here, good to hear from you Aurora; have you made contact with the Galactica?_

"That is confirmed Caine; both Galactica Fleet and Pegasus have been contacted with face to face on board the Daedalus. We're just calling in to update both the Senior Commanding Council and the Quorum as to our mission status." The reply was nearly immediate and from the Quorum no less.

"_Than what is your current status beyond the meeting? How long will it take for you to rendezvous with the fleet?"_

_Mister Milan, it will take more than a few hours to ensure them that joining an as of yet unseen fleet. Just be glad that we are getting an update as positive as this and not a report stating that the mission has been aborted._

I nod in agreement with Caine, "So far this mission has had a positive outcome, but we must be careful for the next few days. To that end tomorrow as of nine hundred hours, both Commander Adama and Admiral Cain will be touring the Aurora from stem to stern. I am hopeful that the tour will provide a level of trust with the both of them; while we are touring the Aurora, Miss Ilosin will be in a private meeting with President Roslin. Hopefully this two pronged move will allow us to reunite the fleet within the next two weeks." As I finish my thought, I immediately realized the reaction from the Quorum Representative Mister Milan will be very loud.

"_What, two weeks; Commander is there no way for you to speed along the process and reunite with us by the end of the week?"_

_Mister Milan, Commander Phoenix is already working at as fast a rate as he can without scaring the civvies and Colonial Officers as it is; I will be ending this report for now. Commander Phoenix and Miss Ilosin good luck and may the gods protect you from harm._

"Confirmed and may the universe protect you and guide us together once more." Ending the connection I turn to Miss Ilosin and offer to escort her to guest quarters; since she will be staying aboard for the mission, I believe it will be best for her to be able to rest. She gracefully accepted my offer; after showing her to guest quarters I need to speak with both Aurora and Crewman Baker and to that end I return to my office and summon both of them. Aurora being the mainframe AI core of the ship was already present in my office and all we had to do was await Crewman Baker; our wait was short and once both were present I gave them the heads up about Colonials coming aboard ship from the Galactica Fleet and that they were to remain unseen until ordered otherwise. Both readily followed orders understanding that this is to protect them as much as it is for the Colonials. With that accomplished I returned to the bridge to complete my own duty shift before heading down to the Colonial section of the ship to pickup Laura from the school room that Miss Jenison is running.

The following morning I find myself on the deck awaiting the arrival of the Colonial Raptor that is ferrying President Roslin, along with Admiral Cain and Commander Adama. Beside me is Miss Ilosin and the XO; being informed that the Raptor is being lowered onto the deck; we ready ourselves one last time. With the Raptor moving into position the XO called out "All hands ATTENTION," with the trained response of soldiers the deck crew and marines stood at attention along with the XO and myself. As the Raptor hatch opened Admiral Cain disembarked after her escort, following her is Commander Adama; it was as he reached to assist President Roslin to the deck that the yeoman called out "Now arriving President Laura Roslin of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol." All Star Forces personnel saluted immediately upon hearing the yeoman; Adama smiled slightly for some reason while Roslin looked embarrassed at the attention and I am uncertain about Cain herself. The XO quickly dismissed the crew back to their duties and we began the tour of the ship; Miss Ilosin had insisted that President Roslin tour the Aurora as well and I saw no reason to deny said request. Our first stop is Medical, "This is the primary Medical bay; here the medical staff can care for any number of injuries and sickness. It is designed to house roughly seven hundred people at any given moment and has three levels that can act as an emergency lifeboat. Our CMO Hiendol normally is found treating the patients herself, but she does have a staff of fifty-nine combat doctors assigned to both primary and secondary Medical and a nursing staff of two hundred and forty." As we moved deeper into Medical we came across some of the children being treated by members of the staff; Cain and Adama both looked at the scene before them with appraising eyes. Before we could move on, one of the children spotted me and ran to in front of the group, "Commander Phoenix, are you going to tell us more about Atlantis today?" Kneeling down, I nodded my head and told her that I will tonight before they go to sleep and that there might be some guests joining us; she nodded eagerly in response and rejoined the other children. I motioned that we were moving on and pushed further into Medical; the reason for such a detailed tour of Medical is to allow Adama and Roslin to appraise our medical facilities before asking for medical aid.

Our next stop is engineering; being that we are walking towards the nearest Transport Chamber; I am somewhat reluctant to make them walk the entire way unlike when I gave the tour to Caine, Walters and the others. Just as we reach the chamber, it opens to reveal a group of pilots; it is as they stand at attention that I notice one of our Cylon pilots is amongst them. What I did not remember until now is that some of our new pilots assigned on board by Commander Caine are from the Cylons; my fears that a Cylon member of the crew being identified is realized, as Admiral Cain reaches for her sidearm. The marine escorts reach for their own weapons while my marines aim at their Colonial counterparts; Commander Adama attempted to be the voice of reason "Marines stand down; Admiral what do you think you're doing? This isn't the Pegasus, please lower your weapon and tell me what is going on?" Cain pointedly ignored Adama until my own sidearm was pressed against Cain's head, "Admiral Cain, you will either stand down or I will remove your head." Unmoving Cain spoke for the first time since we began the tour, "That is a Cylon; now than Commander, I am ordering you to lower you weapon. Do it now and I might let this slide, if not I will have you relieve of your command and held for war crimes." What is with Colonial Officers and thinking that I am a member of their military; "Admiral Cain, just to let you know I do not have to point my sidearm at you. Marines, stand down; I think that the Admiral and her marines should know that their weapons are useless while on board the Aurora." That got her attention immediately; with my sidearm being returned to its holster I continued "The decom-procedures also disable any non-Star Forces weapons that pass through. Go ahead and attempt to fire, you will find you weapon is useless; I let you keep it as a pretense of comfort for you." Cain glared at me and started to lower her sidearm, "Commander, I don't believe you" she brought her weapon to bear and pulled the trigger, only nothing happened; she then realize that we had indeed disabled her weapon during the decom-procedures. The Colonial marines looked at their own weapons and with a start realized that they too were disabled with ease; Adama smiled at the situation, apparently he had feared something like this happening as well.

I motioned for my marines to stand aside; looking at the pilots "I am sorry for Admiral Cain's actions, you can move along now." The pilots looked at me for a moment before moving off; Cain herself was about to speak when I motioned for her to remain quiet. Once the pilots were out of hearing range, "Admiral Cain, what I did not mention yesterday during our initial meeting is that the basestar crews are human-form Cylons. Our fleet has a few thousand Cylon members amongst the population and most of those are members of the Colonial Fleet Military now. Any Colonial officer, be they Human or Cylon will be treated equally and those assigned to my ship will be treated as if they are members of the Galactic Star Forces." The look in her eyes said to me that she has had enough and is ready to explode; she did just that with "You must be out of your fraking mind. Cylons are the enemy and must be destroyed, not treated as equals; their machines nothing more." I sigh in response, "Admiral, the first thing that you will have to understand is that this is not and has never been a Colonial ship. This is a warship of the line; the Aurora is part of the Galactic Star Forces, the military arm of the Great Races Alliance. Here Colonial law takes a back seat to the laws of the GRA and no matter what you may say that will not change anytime soon. Your earlier actions by bearing a weapon at anyone aboard this ship is seen as a capitol offense and normally you would have been arrested and placed in the brig by now. The reason you have not is because you are a member of a foreign star nation that does not have an official treaty with the GRA. Now would you like to continue the tour or return to your ship?" Admiral Cain looked at me with a hard glare and after a few minutes she said that we should continue the tour, but under no circumstances will I threaten her again while she is aboard. I agreed with her; I am glad that at least we can make some headway despite the obvious setback from me and Admiral Cain butting heads in the corridor. With that we continued the tour with the introduction to the Transport Chambers; a whole new world has been opened to the Galactica and her civilian fleet.


End file.
